Targeting the brain through the gut: bottom-up mechanisms of eating behavior (A01)

基于当前资助期的结果，我们提出了内脏脂肪、低度炎症和肥胖患者大脑结构和功能变化之间的新的病理机制联系，这反过来又与认知差异有关。分析进一步表明，肠道菌群通过短链脂肪酸信号调节饮食行为。我们现在的目标是将这些发现转化为针对身体-大脑交流的新型肥胖治疗方案。为此，我们计划在一项有60名肥胖患者的随机对照试验中测试26周的益生元干预与安慰剂对食物决策的影响。机制的见解将通过基于任务的功能磁共振成像，微生物群测序和代谢组学的整合获得。

Based on results of the current funding period, we propose novel pathomechanistic links between visceral fat, low-grade inflammation and changes in brain structure and function in obesity, which in turn relate to differences in cognition. Analyses further indicate that the gut microbiota modulate eating behavior via short-chain fatty acids signaling. Our goal is to now translate these findings into novel obesity-treatment options that target body-brain communication. To this end, we plan to test the effects of a pre-biotic intervention over 26 weeks compared to placebo on food decision-making in a randomized controlled trial with 60 obese patients. Mechanistic insights will be gained through the integration of task-based fMRI, microbiota sequencing and metabolomics.