Involvement of Human Amygdala and Orbitofrontal Cortex in Hunger-Enhanced Memory for Food Stimuli
Year: 2001
Type: article
Abstract: We used positron emission tomography to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 10 healthy volunteers performing a recognition memory task with food and non-food items. The biological salience of the food stimuli was manipulated by requiring subjects to fast before the experiment and eat to satiation at fixed time points during scanning. All subjects showed enhanced recognition of food stimuli (relative to non-food) in the fasting state. Satiation significantly reduced the memory advantage for food. Left amygdala rCBF covaried positively with recognition memory for food items, whereas rCBF in right anterior orbitofrontal cortex covaried with overall memory performance. Right posterior orbitofrontal rCBF covaried positively with hunger ratings during presentation of food items. Regression analysis of the neuroimaging data revealed that left amygdala and right lateral orbitofrontal rCBF covaried as a function of stimulus category (i.e., food vs non-food). These results indicate the involvement of amygdala and discrete regions of orbitofrontal cortex in the integration of perceptual (food), motivational (hunger), and cognitive (memory) processes in the human brain.
Source: Journal of Neuroscience
Authors: J. S. Morris, R. J. Dolan
Institutions: The Royal Free Hospital, University College London
Language: English
Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Wellcome Trust
OpenAlex ID: W2103654094