New clues in the brain linking pain and food

Date:
February 11, 2022
Source:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Summary:
Researchers may have found an explanation in a new study that
suggests that circuitry in the brain responsible for motivation
and pleasure is impacted when someone experiences pain.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
It has long been known that there is an association between food and pain,
as people with chronic pain often struggle with their weight. Researchers
at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience may have found an explanation
in a new study that suggests that circuitry in the brain responsible for motivation and pleasure is impacted when someone experiences pain. "These findings may reveal new physiological mechanisms linking chronic pain
to a change in someone's eating behavior," said Paul Geha, M.D., lead
author on the study published in PLOS ONE. "And this change can lead to
the development of obesity."

========================================================================== Finding pleasure in food comes from how our brain responds to what we are eating. In this study researchers were looking at the brain's response to
sugar and fat. Using a gelatin dessert and pudding researchers altered
the sugar, fat, and texture of the foods. They found that none of the
patients experienced eating behavior changes with sugar, but they did
with fat. Those with acute lower back pain who later recovered were most
likely to lose pleasure in eating the pudding and show disrupted satiety signals -- the communication from the digestive system to the brain --
while those with acute lower back pain whose pain persisted at one year
did not initially have the same change in their eating behavior. But
chronic lower back pain patients did report that eventually foods high
in fat and carbohydrates, like ice cream and cookies, became problematic
for them over time and brain scans showed disrupted satiety signals.

"It is important to note, this change in food liking did not change
their caloric intake," said Geha, who first authored a previous study
published in PAIN that recent research is building on. "These findings
suggest obesity in patients with chronic pain may not be caused by
lack of movement but maybe they change how they eat." Brain scans of
the study participants revealed that the nucleus accumbens -- a small
area of the brain mostly known for its role in decision-making -- may
offer clues to who is at risk to experience a long-term change in eating behavior. Researchers found the structure of this area of the brain was
normal in of patients who initially experienced changes in their eating behavior but whose pain did not become chronic. However, patients whose
eating behavior was normal, but whose pain became chronic had smaller
nucleus accumbens.

Interestingly, the nucleus accumbens predicted pleasure ratings only in
chronic back pain patients and in patients who became chronic after an
acute bout of back pain suggesting that this region becomes critical in motivated behavior of chronic pain patients. Previous research by Geha,
found a smaller nucleus accumbens can indicate if someone is at a greater
risk of developing chronic pain.

Additional authors include Yezhe Lin, Ph.D., and Gelsina Stanley of
the University of Rochester, Ivan de Araujo, Ph.D., of Icahn School of
Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Dana Small, Ph.D., of Yale University. The research was funded by National Institute on Drugs Abuse.

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always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Rochester_Medical_Center. Original written by Kelsie Smith Hayduk. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yezhe Lin, Ivan De Araujo, Gelsina Stanley, Dana Small, Paul Geha.

Chronic pain precedes disrupted eating behavior in low-back
pain patients. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263527 DOI: 10.1371/
journal.pone.0263527 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211161305.htm

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