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Alcohol triggers brain’s response to food aromas, increases caloric intake in women
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Women who consume alcohol before a meal will eat more and have a different brain response to food aromas compared with women who do not drink alcohol, according to research in Obesity.
In a randomized, single blind study using functional MRI to measure the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses to food aromas in women who received an IV infusion of alcohol, researchers found that women ate more food at lunch after receiving alcohol compared with women who received an IV infusion of saline solution.
“Many studies, including ours, now suggest that alcohol intoxication increases food intake,” David A. Kareken, PhD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, told Endocrine Today. “Our study suggests that at least one mechanism by which this occurs is the sensitization of feeding centers to foods’ classically conditioned cues, such as food aromas.”
David A. Kareken
Kareken, William J. A. Eiler II, PhD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed data from 35 women in a healthy weight range (mean age, 25 years; mean BMI, 21.7 kg/m²; 86% white) who performed normally on a 20-item smell identification test. Before eating, participants received an IV infusion of 6% alcohol in saline or saline solution alone (placebo) in a pseudo-randomized, counter-balanced order. Researchers measured brain responses to both food and nonfood aromas via functional MRI scans. After imaging, participants ate a late lunch of pasta with Italian meat sauce or beef and noodles.
Researchers found that food intake increased after the IV infusion of alcohol compared with a saline-only infusion (P = .04). In addition, functional MRI imaging showed a significantly increased left hypothalamic response to food aromas after an alcohol infusion in participants. Levels of the gut hormone ghrelin also were reduced after alcohol infusion.
“In the current study, administration of alcohol led to a 7% increase in food consumption in the group as a whole,” the researchers wrote. “This increase in consumption, while significant, was low compared to studies reporting increases of 9% to 30%.”
Researchers noted that food consumption was likely lower than other studies because the infusion of alcohol into the bloodstream circumvents the direct absorption of alcohol by the gut. Still, the researchers said, alcohol affected ghrelin in a fashion similar to ingested alcohol.
“Some of the next steps in humans would be to understand how alcohol affects hypothalamic communication with other cortical and subcortical brain reward areas,” Kareken said. “Whereas animal models may be better suited to understand the precise dynamics of how alcohol affects signaling within hypothalamic networks.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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