IRM fonctionnelle cérébrale et régulation de la prise alimentaire chez l'homme

The rapid advancement of neuroimaging methodology and its growing availability has transformed neuroscience research. Many of the questions that we can ask about human brain structure and function are dependent on the sophistication of the neuroimaging technology that we use. Non-invasive neuroimaging methods provide new data on in vivo brain function. Positron emission tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI) are examples of novel tools for neuroscience community. The knowledge of how food intake is regulated in humans has been renewed by PET scan and fMRI studies. In comparison to lean people, obese patients present distinct functional activity patterns in selective brain regions involved in food intake such as cingular cortex, limbic system, orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex and striatum. Some of these defects can be partly correct by bariatric surgery in obese population.