Eating to dare - Nutrition impacts human risky decision and related brain function
Lu Liu,
Sergio Oroz Artigas,
Anja Ulrich,
Jeremy Tardu,
Peter N.C. Mohr,
Britta Wilms,
Berthold Koletzko,
Sebastian M. Schmid,
Soyoung Q. Park
Affiliations
Lu Liu
Department of Decision Neuroscience & Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Nuthetal, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Corresponding authors.
Sergio Oroz Artigas
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Anja Ulrich
Institute for Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Jeremy Tardu
Institute for Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Peter N.C. Mohr
School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany; WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Britta Wilms
German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Institute for Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Berthold Koletzko
Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University of Munich Medical Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Munich, Germany
Sebastian M. Schmid
German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Institute for Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Soyoung Q. Park
Department of Decision Neuroscience & Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Nuthetal, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany; Corresponding authors.
Macronutrient composition modulates plasma amino acids that are precursors of neurotransmitters and can impact brain function and decisions. Neurotransmitter serotonin has been shown to regulate not only food intake, but also economic decisions. We investigated whether an acute nutrition-manipulation inducing plasma tryptophan fluctuation affects brain function, thereby affecting risky decisions. Breakfasts differing in carbohydrate/protein ratios were offered to test changes in risky decision-making while metabolic and neural dynamics were tracked. We identified that a high-carbohydrate/protein breakfast increased plasma tryptophan/LNAA (large neutral amino acids) ratio which mapped to individual risk propensity changes. The nutrition-manipulation and tryptophan/LNAA fluctuation effects on risk propensity changes were further modulated by individual differences in body fat mass. Using fMRI, we further identified activation in the parietal lobule during risk-processing, of which activities 1) were sensitive to the tryptophan/LNAA fluctuation, 2) were modulated by individual's body fat mass, and 3) predicted the risk propensity changes in decision-making. Our results provide evidence for a personalized nutrition-driven modulation on human risky decision and its metabolic and neural mechanisms.
