Food cue reactivity in successful laparoscopic gastric banding: a sham-deflation-controlled pilot study

Description: Although laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is less effective than other surgical weight loss procedures, it offers a unique opportunity to examine the underlying neuronal mechanisms of surgically-assisted weight loss due to its instant, non-invasive, adjustable nature. Six participants with stable excess weight loss for at least 1-year (%EWL≥45) completed two days of fMRI scanning 1.5-5 years after LAGB surgery. On one day, participants underwent removal of ~50% of the band’s fluid, and on a second day, a sham-deflation. Days 1 and 2 were counterbalanced and blinded to participants. The food cue paradigm involves presentation of high energy-dense food (HED), low energy-dense food (LED), and degraded food images (control/baseline image). In the deflated versus sham condition, participants showed significantly lower activation in the anterior (para)cingulate, angular gyrus, lateral occipital cortex, and frontal cortex to food compared to degraded images (p < 0.05, whole brain TFCE and FWE corrected). The findings of this within-subject randomized controlled pilot study suggest that constriction of the stomach through LAGB may indirectly alter brain activation in response to food cues which may underlie changes in food craving and preference that support sustained post-surgical weight-loss. Despite the small sample size, this is in agreement with and adds to the growing literature of post-bariatric surgery changes in prefrontal cortex activation.

Communities: nutritional

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