Abstract

Defects in experiencing disgust may contribute to obesity by allowing for the overconsumption of food. However, the relationship of disgust proneness and its associated neural locus has yet to be explored in the context of obesity. Thirty-three participants (17 obese, 16 lean) completed the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale-Revised and a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm where images from 4 categories (food, contaminates, contaminated food or fixation) were randomly presented. Independent two-sample t -tests revealed significantly lower levels of Disgust Sensitivity for the obese group (mean score = 14.7) compared with the lean group (mean score = 17.6, P = 0.026). The obese group had less activation in the right insula than the lean group when viewing contaminated food images. Multiple regression with interaction analysis revealed one left insula region where the association of Disgust Sensitivity scores with activation differed by group when viewing contaminated food images. These interaction effects were driven by the negative correlation of Disgust Sensitivity scores with beta values extracted from the left insula in the obese group (r = −0.59) compared with a positive correlation in the lean group (r = 0.65). Given these body mass index–dependent differences in Disgust Sensitivity and neural responsiveness to disgusting food images, it is likely that altered Disgust Sensitivity may contribute to obesity.

Details

Title
Disgust proneness and associated neural substrates in obesity
Author
Watkins, Tristan J 1 ; Di Iorio, Christina R 2 ; Olatunji, Bunmi O 3 ; Benningfield, Margaret M 4 ; Blackford, Jennifer U 5 ; Dietrich, Mary S 6 ; Bhatia, Monisha 7 ; Theiss, Justin D 4 ; Salomon, Ronald M 4 ; Niswender, Kevin 8 ; Cowan, Ronald L 9 

 Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA 
 Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, USA 
 Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA 
Pages
458-465
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Mar 2016
Publisher
Oxford University Press
ISSN
17495016
e-ISSN
17495024
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3171527203
Copyright
© The Author(s) (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.