Christina Gabriele Prechtl de Hernandez1, John D. Beaver2, Charlotte Croese1, Kinan Muhammed1, Gabriel Bell1, Giuliana Durighel3, Emer Hughes3, Adam D. Waldman3, Gary Frost4, Jimmy D. Bell1, Anthony P. Goldstone1
1Metabolic and Molecular Imaging Group, Imaging Sciences Department, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, UK; 2Clinical Imaging Centre, GlaxoSmithKline, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, UK; 3Robert Steiner MRI Unit, Imaging Sciences Department, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, UK; 4Department of Investigative Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, UK
We examined how individual personality traits and mood influence regional brain activity when viewing food pictures measured by fMRI. 20 non-obese healthy adults were scanned after an overnight fast or after breakfast. There was significant activation of the ventral striatum, insula, amygdala, medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) when viewing high-calorie vs. low-calorie foods only when fasted. Ventral striatum, amygdala, and medial OFC activation were positively correlated with individual measures of reward sensitivity (BAS Drive and/or Reward Responsiveness) when fasted, while insula activation was positively correlated with positive affect. There was no significant correlation with negative affect or body-mass-index.