Effects of the modern food environment on striatal function, cognition and regulation of ingestive behavior

- Striatal circuits involved in associative learning are altered in obesity.
- Differences in neural reactivity to food cues and reward confer risk for overeating.
- Excess intake of dietary fat and sugar alters striatal dopamine function.
- Diet-induced adaptations lead to cognitive impairments that may potentiate risk.

Emerging evidence from human and animal studies suggest that consumption of palatable foods rich in fat and/or carbohydrates may produce deleterious influences on brain function independently of body weight or metabolic disease. Here we consider two mechanisms by which diet can impact striatal circuits to amplify food cue reactivity and impair inhibitory control. First, we review findings demonstrating that the energetic properties of foods regulate nucleus accumbens food cue reactivity, a demonstrated predictor of weight gain susceptibility, which is then sensitized by chronic consumption of an energy dense diet. Second, we consider evidence for diet-induced adaptations in dorsal striatal dopamine signaling that is associated with impaired inhibitory control and negative outcome learning.