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What if an MRI could determine whether a weight loss program would be effective? Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered a neural sub-network of connected regions between the brain and the basal frequency of the stomach's electrical current that correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.
The results of the BGU multidisciplinary group support a common neural theory that people with heightened neural responses to the sight and smell of food consistently overeat and gain weight.
"To our surprise, we found that although higher control functions, measured in terms of behavior, were the dominant factors in weight loss, this was not reflected in brain interaction patterns," says Gidon Levakov, a graduate student who led the study at BGU. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. - "So we discovered that weight loss is not just a matter of willpower, but is actually related to much more basic visual and olfactory cues."
Research
The team evaluated 92 people during an 18-month weight loss course led by Professor Iris Shy of BGU's Department of Epidemiology. Participants were selected based on large waist circumference, abnormal blood lipid levels, and age.
Before the intervention, participants underwent a series of brain scans and behavioral tests of executive function. The participants' weight loss was measured after six months on the diet, which Prof. Shai says usually results in maximum weight loss.
"It appears that visual information may be an important factor that triggers food intake," says lead researcher Professor Galia Avidan of BGU's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Psychology. ""This is reasonable, given that sight is the primary human sense."
