News Finding: When people drank fructose, the food images produced more activity in the orbitofrontal cortex than when they consumed glucose.
Paper Finding: We show that the ingestion of fructose compared with glucose resulted in smaller increases in plasma insulin levels and greater brain responses to food cues in the visual cortex and left orbital frontal cortex.
News Context: Fructose may instead activate pathways that increase the appeal of food. When people drank fructose, the food images produced more activity in the orbitofrontal cortex than when they consumed glucose. People who had just consumed fructose were more likely to forgo the delayed payday in favor of food compared with those who had just received glucose (Proc.
Paper Context: Significance Fructose compared with glucose may be a weaker suppressor of appetite. We show that the ingestion of fructose compared with glucose resulted in smaller increases in plasma insulin levels and greater brain responses to food cues in the visual cortex and left orbital frontal cortex. Ingestion of fructose versus glucose also led to greater hunger and desire for food and a greater willingness to give up long-term monetary rewards to obtain immediate high-calorie foods.