Hedonic Rating of Sucrose Is Sub-Regionally Associated with Striatal Dopamine Transporter in Humans

Background: Eating behavior is determined by both homeostatic and hedonic values. Objective: We investigated the association of hedonic value with striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability sub-regionally. Method: An intravenous bolus injection of F-18-FP-CIT was administered after the infusion of glucose or placebo, and the emission data were acquired over 90 min. DAT availability and binding potential (BPND) were measured via the simplified reference tissue method. Subjects were assessed with sensory taste test of sucrose solutions. The most liked sucrose concentration (%) was determined as the hedonic rating for sucrose. Results: Twenty healthy males participated in this study. After glucose loading, BPNDs of putamen significantly increased, and those of caudate nucleus showed the increasing trend, while those of ventral striatum were not significantly different. After glucose loading, the most liked sucrose concentration (%) was negatively associated with BPNDs of caudate nucleus and showed the trend of positive association with those from ventral striatum. Slopes of regression lines were significantly different according to the sub-regions of striatum. Conclusion: We have highlighted that striatal DAT increased after glucose loading in dorsal striatum, not in ventral striatum. These changes of striatal DAT were sub-regionally associated with the hedonic rating of sucrose from each subject. (c) 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel

Automated summary

This study investigated the association between hedonic value and striatal dopamine transporter availability, revealing an increase of DAT in dorsal striatum after glucose loading, with different association patterns among the striatal sub-regions.