Brain Activity and Hormonal Changes During Food Administration

Summary

The amount and kind of food which is ingested influences the regulation of meal size. Neural signals from the gastrointestinal tract travel via the vagus nerve to the brainstem and thalamus, which projects to the rest of the brain, in particular the hypothalamus, amygdala and primary sensory cortices. In neuroimaging studies in which the stomach was distended with a gastric balloon activation was observed in the right insula, left posterior amygdala, left posterior insula, left inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex. So far, no study has examined the effects of the ingestion or infusion of a food on the brain. In addition to neural signals, hormonal signals are important for meal termination. Hormones like insulin, ghrelin and cholecystokinin interact with gastric as well as sensory signals in the process of satiation, which ultimately leads to meal termination. The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between food administration, hormone responses and brain responses. To this end an oral or intra-gastric load will be administered while measuring brain activity (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and hormone concentrations. Subjects will participate in one trainings session and in three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (35-min fMRI scan). A training session will take 40-minutes and consists of placing a naso-gastric tube and ingesting 500 ml of chocolate milk orally. The fMRI sessions will consist of three conditions: in condition one (A) 500ml of chocolate milk will be administrated orally. In condition two (B) and three (C) an intra-gastric load of 500 ml is administrated.

Conditions

• Appetite Regulation

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Water with guar gum - Non Caloric

Infusion 500 ml of water with 3 gram of guar gum through a naso-gastric tube directly into stomach during a fMRI scan.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Chocolate milk - Oral Caloric

Ingestion of 500 ml of commercially available chocolate milk (Per 100mL; energy content of 354 kJ, 84 kcal, 3.5 g proteins, 12 g mono and disaccharide, 2.5 fat g, 0.5 g fibers) through a tube in the mouth during a fmri scan.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Chocolate milk - Intra Gastric Caloric

Infusion of 500 ml of commercially available chocolate milk (Per 100mL; energy content of 354 kJ, 84 kcal, 3.5 g proteins, 12 g mono and disaccharide, 2.5 fat g, 0.5 g fibers) through a naso-gastric tube directly into stomach during a fMRI scan.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• UMC Utrecht

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Paul AM Smeets, Dr · UMC Utrecht

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

35 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-07-31

Primary Completion

2011-12-31

Completion

2011-12-31

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations