Big belly, small brain?
obesity is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, which is known to be associated with cognitive impairment. So Antonio Convit of New York University School of medicine tries to understand the effect of obesity on the brain's physiological structure. He used magnetic resonance imaging to compare the brains of 44 obese people with 19 thinner people of similar age and background.
he found that there were more water in the amygdala (part of the brain related to eating behavior) in obese people. He also observed that the orbitofrontal cortex of obese people is small, which are important for impulse control and participate in eating behavior. This may mean fewer neurons or neurons atrophy. " Convit said.
obesity is associated with recurrent low levels of inflammation. Convit believes that this can explain brain size changes. The high fibrinogen content of the obese means they have chronic inflammation, and they are relatively small in the brain areas associated with feeding, which means that inflammation may explain changes in the brain structure.