Brain stimulation limits calories consumed in adults with obesity

NIH | NOVEMBER 15, 2015

A National Institutes of Health study found that noninvasive brain stimulation decreased calorie consumption and increased weight loss in adults who are obese.

Weight loss. Image: Petr Kratochvil/Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Led by scientists at the Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, the team studied a total of nine men and women with obesity who resided in the Branch’s metabolic ward on two separate visits, each for eight days.

On each visit, the participants ate a weight-maintaining diet for five days. Then for three days, they unknowingly received either active or sham (fake) transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS. Participants then ate and drank as much as they wanted from computerized vending machines. Applied to the scalp, the active tDCS targeted the brain region controlling behavior and reward.

The four people who got the sham stimulation during both visits consumed the same number of calories from the vending machines on each visit and did not lose weight. But the five people who got inactive stimulation on the first visit, and active tDCS at the brain target on the second visit, consumed an average of 700 fewer calories and lost an average of 0.8 pounds on the second visit.

The findings suggest a possible intervention for obesity, when combined with healthy eating and exercise.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Study Challenges Long-Standing Concept in Cancer Metabolism

Scientists have discovered that lactate provides a fuel for growing tumors, challenging a nearly century-old observation known as the Warburg effect.

Injectable nanoparticles deliver cancer therapy in mice

Researchers designed and tested a system that delivered nanometer-sized particles of a cancer drug to tumors in mice, improving survival.

A biological mechanism for schizophrenia

Scientists identified the mechanism behind genetic variations that were linked to schizophrenia in previous genomic studies.

DNA damage caused by cancer treatment reversed by ZATT protein

An international team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health is the first to discover a new way that cells fix an important and dangerous type of DNA damage known as a DNA-protein crosslink (DPC).

Heart Disease Severity May Depend on Nitric Oxide Levels

The most common heart medications may get an assist from nitric oxide circulating in the body, according to a new study.

Infants, Toddlers at More Risk from Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke than Thought

A new study finds that infants and toddlers in low-income communities may be even more at risk from second -hand smoke exposure than has been thought.