Is it Worth the Effort? Novel Insights into Obesity-Associated Alterations in Cost-Benefit Decision-Making.

摘要: Cost-benefit decision-making entails the process of evaluating potential actions according to trade-off between expected benefit (reward) and anticipated costs (effort). Recent research revealed that dopaminergic transmission within fronto-striatal circuitry strongly modulates cost-benefit decision-making. Alterations system have been associated with obesity, but little is known about differences in obese compared lean individuals. With a newly developed experimental task we investigate obesity-associated alterations decision-making, utilizing physical effort by handgrip-force exertion both food non-food rewards. We relate our behavioral findings local grey matter volume assessed structural MRI. Obese subjects were less willing engage particular for high-caloric sweet snack food. The amount was thereby negatively subjects’ individual levels chronic stress punishment sensitivity. Further, self-reported body dissatisfaction correlated willingness invest snacks men. On level, obesity reductions bilateral prefrontal cortex. Nucleus accumbens positively task-induced implicit craving. Our results challenge common notion individuals are work harder obtain emphasize need further exploration underlying neural mechanisms regarding obesity.