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Brief Communications

Individual Differences in Nucleus Accumbens Activity to Food and Sexual Images Predict Weight Gain and Sexual Behavior

Kathryn E. Demos, Todd F. Heatherton and William M. Kelley
Journal of Neuroscience 18 April 2012, 32 (16) 5549-5552; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5958-11.2012
Kathryn E. Demos
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Todd F. Heatherton
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William M. Kelley
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Abstract

Failures of self-regulation are common, leading to many of the most vexing problems facing contemporary society, from overeating and obesity to impulsive sexual behavior and STDs. One reason that people may be prone to engaging in unwanted behaviors is heightened sensitivity to cues related to those behaviors; people may overeat because of hyperresponsiveness to food cues, addicts may relapse following exposure to their drug of choice, and some people might engage in impulsive sexual activity because they are easily aroused by erotic stimuli. An open question is the extent to which individual differences in neural cue reactivity relate to actual behavioral outcomes. Here we show that individual differences in human reward-related brain activity in the nucleus accumbens to food and sexual images predict subsequent weight gain and sexual activity 6 months later. These findings suggest that heightened reward responsivity in the brain to food and sexual cues is associated with indulgence in overeating and sexual activity, respectively, and provide evidence for a common neural mechanism associated with appetitive behaviors.

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 32 (16)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 32, Issue 16
18 Apr 2012
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Individual Differences in Nucleus Accumbens Activity to Food and Sexual Images Predict Weight Gain and Sexual Behavior
Kathryn E. Demos, Todd F. Heatherton, William M. Kelley
Journal of Neuroscience 18 April 2012, 32 (16) 5549-5552; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5958-11.2012

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Individual Differences in Nucleus Accumbens Activity to Food and Sexual Images Predict Weight Gain and Sexual Behavior
Kathryn E. Demos, Todd F. Heatherton, William M. Kelley
Journal of Neuroscience 18 April 2012, 32 (16) 5549-5552; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5958-11.2012
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