Obesity Associated Cerebral Gray and White Matter Alterations Are Interrelated in the Female Brain.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is known to affect the brain's gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) structure but the interrelationship of such changes remains unclear. Here we used T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in combination with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to assess the relationship between obesity-associated alterations of gray matter density (GMD) and anisotropic water diffusion in WM, respectively. In a small cohort of lean to obese women, we confirmed previous reports of obesity-associated alterations of GMD in brain regions involved in executive control (i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC) and habit learning (i.e., dorsal striatum). Gray matter density alterations of the DLPFC were negatively correlat

SUBMITTER: Mueller K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4262391 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature