The purpose of this study is to examine if glucocorticoids will change neural activation in regions of the corticolimbic-striatal system that regulate feeding.
The primary hypothesis tested in this study will be to determine if that in response to food cues, glucocorticoids will change neural activation in regions of the corticolimbic-striatal system that regulate feeding. It is anticipate that these changes will correlate with hunger ratings and food intake. Further, this research will also examine if glucocorticoids will increase the basal metabolic rate and alter multiple systemic appetite-regulating hormones compared to saline. It is expected that these changes will correlate positively with hunger ratings and food intake as well.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
28
Hydrocortisone will be used as the steroid of choice because it is bio-identical to cortisol and is subject to the same metabolism as cortisol.
Saline will be used as the placebo comparator. It will be administered in the same manner as the active drug.
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Change in Brain Response to Food Imagery
Brain response to images of food either during hydrocortisone infusion or saline infusion will be measured through fMRI. Brain response is operationally defined as the change in functional MRI-measured blood oxygen levels in specific regions of the brain between the resting state and intervention state. The fMRI sequences last anywhere from 1-5 min. Total scan time will be approximately 90 minutes. The slices taken with each sequences equal 25-75. The outcome is a comparison between the resting oxygen levels and oxygen levels during the interventions. BioImage Suite software is used to categorize if there is a significance between the two levels at a p \< 0.05.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Average Hunger Rating
Average hunger rating will be captured using the Visual Food Cue Task. This standardized method presents a series of images consisting of high calorie food, low calorie food, and non-food pictures presented randomly across four runs during the fMRI session. Each picture will be presented only once in a randomized order for each participant. Participants will be instructed to rate their "hunger", "liking" and "wanting" of the item on a 9-point Likert scale utilizing a 4-key button box. The hunger, wanting, and liking scales are all rated on a scale of 1-9, 1 being the least and 9 being the most. These scores are presented as an average across measurement points during the fMRI. Every time a food image is shown, the rater provides a rating of hunger, wanting and liking of it- people will be shown approximately 40-60 photos.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Average Wanting Rating
Average wanting rating will be captured using the Visual Food Cue Task. This standardized method presents a series of images consisting of high calorie food, low calorie food, and non-food pictures presented randomly across four runs during the fMRI session. Each picture will be presented only once in a randomized order for each participant. Participants will be instructed to rate their "hunger", "liking" and "wanting" of the item on a 9-point Likert scale utilizing a 4-key button box. The hunger, wanting, and liking scales are all rated on a scale of 1-9, 1 being the least and 9 being the most. These scores are presented as an average across measurement points during the fMRI.
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Time frame: 90 minutes
Average Liking Rating
Average wanting rating will be captured using the Visual Food Cue Task. This standardized method presents a series of images consisting of high calorie food, low calorie food, and non-food pictures presented randomly across four runs during the fMRI session. Each picture will be presented only once in a randomized order for each participant. Participants will be instructed to rate their "hunger", "liking" and "wanting" of the item on a 9-point Likert scale utilizing a 4-key button box. The hunger, wanting, and liking scales are all rated on a scale of 1-9, 1 being the least and 9 being the most. These scores are presented as an average across measurement points during the fMRI.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Total Cortisol
Total cortisol will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Total Cortisol
Total cortisol will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Free Cortisol
Free cortisol will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Free Cortisol
Free cortisol will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Cortisone
Cortisone will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Cortisone
Cortisone will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Glucose
Glucose will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Glucose
Glucose will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Glucagon
Glucagon will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Glucagon
Glucagon will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Insulin
Insulin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Insulin
Insulin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Leptin
Leptin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Leptin
Leptin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Ghrelin
Ghrelin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Ghrelin
Ghrelin will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Neuropeptide Y
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Neuropeptide Y
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes
Glucagon-like peptide-1
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline
Glucagon-like peptide-1
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) will be collected from serum at the beginning and end of the procedure.
Time frame: 90 minutes