Different fMRI Representations and Brain Connections for Food Odor Stimuli Depending on the BMI of Infant Volunteers

Benito de Celis Alonso¹, Silvia Hidalgo Tobn², Pilar Dies Suarez², Samuel Flores Huerta², Jenny Vilichis², Manuel Obregon Espejel², Porfirio Ibaez Fernndez², Eduardo Castro Sierra²

Obesity is a precursor of health problems (i.e. in cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, etc.). In Mexico this condition affects more than 70% of the population with a special prevalence in the infant bracket. It is known that odor/smell is one of the principal cues for the appearance and control of appetite. To fight obesity it is crucial to understand the brain mechanisms of this stimulus. Previous fMRI work has shown that adult obese and lean subjects interpret these types of stimuli differently. Nevertheless and surprisingly, no studies have been performed in infants and adolescents who have different metabolism and brain development from adults. Furthermore, there is no information on the changes in connectivity between brain regions for this age group. In this work we studied the different brain fMRI activations and connections between normal weighted and obese adolescents for different types of food odors.