Striatal Dopamine Responses to Feeding are Altered in People with Obesity

Objective: This study determined whether striatal dopamine (DA) release is affected by food ingestion and whether the DA response to high-calorie food images is greater in the fasted than in the fed state in people with obesity. Methods: Striatal DA release was evaluated in 10 people with obesity and prediabetes after consuming a meal to satiation and after fasting overnight as well as in response to viewing images of high-calorie compared with low-calorie foods after consuming a meal to satiation or fasting overnight by using positron emission tomography with [¹¹C]raclopride injection. Results: Striatal DA D2/D3 receptor availability was not different during fasted and fed conditions. Viewing images of high-calorie foods induced striatal DA release relative to viewing images of low-calorie foods (P < 0.05), but there was no difference in the magnitude of the response between fasting and fed conditions. Conclusions: People with obesity and prediabetes do not increase striatal DA release after eating a meal to satiation compared with fasting overnight and fail to inhibit DA release in response to high-calorie food stimuli after eating a meal to satiation. These data suggest that impaired DA signaling contributes to greater energy intake during meals in this population.