TY - JOUR
T1 - Working memory gating in obesity
T2 - Insights from a case-control fMRI study
AU - Herzog, Nadine
AU - Hartmann, Hendrik
AU - Janssen, Lieneke K.
AU - Waltmann, Maria
AU - Fallon, Sean J.
AU - Deserno, Lorenz
AU - Horstmann, Annette
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2024/4/1
Y1 - 2024/4/1
N2 - Computational models and neurophysiological data propose that a ‘gating mechanism’ coordinates distractor-resistant maintenance and flexible updating of working memory contents: While maintenance of information is mainly implemented in the prefrontal cortex, updating of information is signaled by phasic increases in dopamine in the striatum. Previous literature demonstrates structural and functional alterations in these brain areas, as well as differential dopamine transmission among individuals with obesity, suggesting potential impairments in these processes. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an observational case-control fMRI study, dividing participants into groups with and without obesity based on their BMI. We probed maintenance and updating of working memory contents using a modified delayed match to sample task and investigated the effects of SNPs related to the dopaminergic system. While the task elicited the anticipated brain responses, our findings revealed no evidence for group differences in these two processes, neither at the neural level nor behaviorally. However, depending on Taq1A genotype, which affects dopamine receptor density in the striatum, participants with obesity performed worse on the task. In conclusion, this study does not support the existence of overall obesity-related differences in working memory gating. Instead, we propose that potentially subtle alterations may manifest specifically in individuals with a ‘vulnerable’ genotype.
AB - Computational models and neurophysiological data propose that a ‘gating mechanism’ coordinates distractor-resistant maintenance and flexible updating of working memory contents: While maintenance of information is mainly implemented in the prefrontal cortex, updating of information is signaled by phasic increases in dopamine in the striatum. Previous literature demonstrates structural and functional alterations in these brain areas, as well as differential dopamine transmission among individuals with obesity, suggesting potential impairments in these processes. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an observational case-control fMRI study, dividing participants into groups with and without obesity based on their BMI. We probed maintenance and updating of working memory contents using a modified delayed match to sample task and investigated the effects of SNPs related to the dopaminergic system. While the task elicited the anticipated brain responses, our findings revealed no evidence for group differences in these two processes, neither at the neural level nor behaviorally. However, depending on Taq1A genotype, which affects dopamine receptor density in the striatum, participants with obesity performed worse on the task. In conclusion, this study does not support the existence of overall obesity-related differences in working memory gating. Instead, we propose that potentially subtle alterations may manifest specifically in individuals with a ‘vulnerable’ genotype.
KW - Dopamine
KW - Maintenance
KW - Obesity
KW - Taq1A
KW - Updating
KW - Working memory gating
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183675161&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107179
DO - 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107179
M3 - Article
C2 - 38145879
AN - SCOPUS:85183675161
SN - 0195-6663
VL - 195
JO - Appetite
JF - Appetite
M1 - 107179
ER -