Comparison of obese adults with poor versus good sleep quality during a functional neuroimaging delay discounting task: A pilot study

• Poor quality sleepers have decreased brain activation in self-regulatory regions.
• Poor quality sleepers report greater night eating syndrome symptomatology.
• Poor sleep quality is associated with reduced self-regulatory capacity.

This study aimed to determine if obese adults with poor versus good sleep quality demonstrate reduced self-regulatory capacity and different patterns of neural activation when making impulsive monetary choices. Six obese, good quality sleepers (M age=44.7 years, M BMI=38.1 kg/m2) were compared to 13 obese, poor quality sleepers (M age=42.6, M BMI=39.2 kg/m2) on sleep and eating behavior and brain activation in prefrontal and insular regions while engaging in a delay discounting task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Poor quality sleepers demonstrated significantly lower brain activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral insula when making immediate and smaller (impulsive) monetary choices compared to the baseline condition. Behaviorally, poor compared to good quality sleepers reported higher scores in the night eating questionnaire. Obese adults with poor sleep quality demonstrate decreased brain activation in multiple regions that regulate cognitive control and interceptive awareness, possibly reducing self-regulatory capacity when making immediately gratifying decisions.