Wang, G. J., Volkow, N. D., Logan, J., Pappas, N. R., Wong, C. T., Zhu, W., Netusil, N., & Fowler, J. S. (2001). Brain dopamine and obesity. Lancet (London, England), 357
(9253), 354–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(00)03643-6
From the research article’s abstract: “Background The cerebral mechanisms underlying the behaviours that lead to pathological overeating and obesity are poorly understood. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that modulates rewarding properties of food, is likely to be involved. To test the hypothesis that obese individuals have abnormalities in brain dopamine activity we measured the availability of dopamine D2 receptors in brain. Methods Brain dopamine D2 receptor availability was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) and [C-11]raclopride (a radioligand for the dopamine D2 receptor). Bmax/Kd (ratio of the distribution volumes in striatum to that in cerebellum minus 1) was used as a measure of dopamine D2 receptor availability. Brain glucose metabolism was also assessed with 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG). Findings Striatal dopamine D2 receptor availability was significantly lower in the ten obese individuals