Abstract
Objectives A difference in cortical treatment of taste information could alter food intake promoting the development of obesity. The main purpose was to compare, in subjects living with obesity (OB) and normal-weight subjects (NW), the characteristics of gustatory evoked potentials (GEP) for sucrose solution (10 g.100 mL− 1) before and after a standard lunch. The secondary objective was to evaluate the correlations between GEP and the plasmatic levels of acylated ghrelin, leptin, insulin and serotonin.Methods Each subject had 2 randomized sessions spaced by an interval of 2 days. During one session, subjects were fasting and during the other, subjects took a lunch low in sugar. In each session, subjects had a blood test before a first GEP recording followed by a second GEP recording either after a lunch (feeding session) or no lunch (fasting session).Results Twenty-eight OB (BMI: 38.6 ± 9.0 kg.m− 2) were matched to 22 NW (BMI: 22.3 ± 2.2 kg.m− 2). GEP latencies were prolonged in OB regardless the sessions and the time before and after lunch, compared with NW (in Cz at the morning: 170 ± 33 ms vs 138 ± 25 ms respectively; p < 0.001). The increase in latency observed in NW after lunch was not observed in OB. Negative or positive correlations were noted between GEP latencies and ghrelin, leptin, insulin plasmatic levels (P1Cz, r = − 0.38, r = 0.33, r = 0.37 respectively, p < 0.0001).Conclusions This study highlights a slower activation in the taste cortex in OB compared with NW.