Delay discounting tasks present alternatives that differ
in two attributes: amount and delay.
Typically, choice is modeled by application of a discount
function to each option, allowing ...alternative-wise comparison.
However, if participants make decisions by comparing attributes, manipulations
that affect the salience of either attribute may affect patience. In Experiment
1, participants completed one block of trials in which amount was a
fixed attribute (constant across trials), and another in
which delay was fixed. Consistent with the hypothesis that the varying attribute
would be more salient, participants exhibited less patience in the amount-fixed
condition. Moreover, this effect was larger for participants who responded more
quickly when making choices that favored the varying attribute. In Experiment 2,
these findings were extended by adding trial blocks with a working memory dual
task. We replicated the fixed-attribute effect, along with the aforementioned
association with reaction time. Contrary to expectation, the fixed-attribute
effect was not larger when participants were under working memory load. Instead,
working memory load was associated with more patient responses, which may be
related to idiosyncrasies of the task including the absence of immediate
rewards. Overall, results suggest a fixed-attribute effect on patience, which is
consistent with a multi-attribute decision framework.
Objective
The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of child brain structure in the relationship between prenatal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) exposure and child adiposity.
...Methods
This was a cross‐sectional study of 9– to 10‐year‐old participants and siblings across the US. Data were obtained from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®. Brain structure was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. GDM exposure was self‐reported, and discordance for GDM exposure within biological siblings was identified. Mixed effects and mediation models were used to examine associations among prenatal GDM exposure, brain structure, and adiposity markers with sociodemographic covariates.
Results
The sample included 8521 children (7% GDM‐exposed), among whom there were 28 sibling pairs discordant for GDM exposure. Across the entire study sample, prenatal exposure to GDM was associated with lower global and regional cortical gray matter volume (GMV) in the bilateral rostral middle frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. GDM‐exposed siblings also demonstrated lower global cortical GMV than unexposed siblings. Global cortical GMV partially mediated the associations between prenatal GDM exposure and child adiposity markers.
Conclusions
The results identify brain markers of prenatal GDM exposure and suggest that low cortical GMV may explain increased obesity risk for offspring prenatally exposed to GDM.
Global cortical gray matter volume mediating the associations between maternal diabetes exposure and child adiposity
Delay discounting tasks present alternatives that differ in two attributes:
and
. Typically, choice is modeled by application of a
to each option, allowing alternative-wise comparison. However, if ...participants make decisions by comparing attributes, manipulations that affect the salience of either attribute may affect patience. In Experiment 1, participants completed one block of trials in which amount was a
(constant across trials), and another in which delay was fixed. Consistent with the hypothesis that the varying attribute would be more salient, participants exhibited less patience in the amount-fixed condition. Moreover, this effect was larger for participants who responded more quickly when making choices that favored the varying attribute. In Experiment 2, these findings were extended by adding trial blocks with a working memory dual task. We replicated the fixed-attribute effect, along with the aforementioned association with reaction time. Contrary to expectation, the fixed-attribute effect was not larger when participants were under working memory load. Instead, working memory load was associated with more patient responses, which may be related to idiosyncrasies of the task including the absence of immediate rewards. Overall, results suggest a fixed-attribute effect on patience, which is consistent with a multi-attribute decision framework.
It is not known how acute sucralose and glucose alter signaling within the brain when individuals make decisions about available food. Here we examine this using Food Bid Task in which participants ...bid on visually depicted food items, while simultaneously undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Twenty-eight participants completed three sessions after overnight fast, distinguished only by the consumption at the start of the session of 300 mL cherry flavored water with either 75 g glucose, 0.24 g sucralose, or no other ingredient. There was a marginally significant (
= 0.05) effect of condition on bids, with 13.0% lower bids after glucose and 16.6% lower bids after sucralose (both relative to water). Across conditions, greater activity within regions a priori linked to food cue reactivity predicted higher bids, as did greater activity within the medial orbitofrontal cortex and bilateral frontal pole. There was a significant attenuation within the a priori region of interest (ROI) after sucralose compared to water (
< 0.05). Activity after glucose did not differ significantly from either of the other conditions in the ROI, but an attenuation in signal was observed in the parietal cortex, relative to the water condition. Taken together, these data suggest attenuation of central nervous system (CNS) signaling associated with food valuation after glucose and sucralose.
During acute caloric deprivation, hunger signaling mechanisms support homeostasis by enhancing incentive for food. There is some evidence (primarily based on non-human experiments) that fasting ...heightens incentive signaling for non-food reward as well. We hypothesized that, consistent with results from research in rodent and non-human primates, human participants would evidence increased incentive-related brain activity for non-food rewards during fast (relative to satiety), and that this increase would be heightened when available rewards were immediate. To assess these possibilities, healthy participants with BMI between 18 and 29 kg/m
2
completed a task which engaged participants in opportunities to win immediate and delayed money (Monetary Incentive Delay Task) during two neuroimaging sessions (one post-prandial, one fasted). Analyses of participants (N = 18 included, BMI 22.12 ± 2.72, age 21.39 ± 3.52) focused on brain activity during the incentive window of the task. Region of Interest (ROI), as well as whole brain analyses, supported the hypothesized increase in incentive signaling during fasting in regions that included caudate and putamen. No evidence of interaction was observed between fasting and the effect of reward immediacy or reward magnitude. Though provisional given the modest sample size, these results suggest that acute fasting can heighten incentive signaling for non-food rewards.
During acute energy deprivation, hunger signaling mechanisms support homeostasis by enhancing incentive for food. There is some evidence (primarily based on nonhuman experiments) that fasting ...heightens incentive signaling for nonfood reward as well. We hypothesized that, consistent with results from research in rodent and nonhuman primates, human participants would evidence increased incentive-related brain activity for nonfood rewards during fast (relative to satiety) and that this increase would be heightened when available rewards were immediate. To assess these possibilities, healthy participants with body mass index between 18 and 29 kg/m2 completed a task which engaged participants in opportunities to win immediate and delayed money (Monetary Incentive Delay Task) during 2 neuroimaging sessions (1 postprandial, 1 fasted). Analyses of participants (N = 18 included, body mass index 22.12± 2.72, age 21.39± 3.52) focused on brain activity during the incentive window of the task. Region of interest, as well as whole-brain analyses, supported the hypothesized increase in incentive signaling during fasting in regions that included caudate and putamen. No evidence of interaction was observed between fasting and the effect of reward immediacy or reward magnitude. Although provisional given the modest sample size, these results suggest that acute fasting can heighten incentive signaling for nonfood rewards.
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