Our results are consistent with a recent PPI analysis of eating behaviors (Passamonti et al., 2009) which found connectivity changes between NAcc and premotor areas when viewing appetizing vs. bland foods in subjects with higher food sensitivity. The authors propose the premotor cortex mediates transformation of desire generated by the striatum into preparation for action suggesting inefficient coupling between reward and feeding network as a vulnerability marker for abnormal behaviors such as overeating (Passamonti et al., 2009). As similarities have been suggested between eating behaviors in obesity and drug use in addicts (Volkow and Wise, 2005), the sensorimotor cortex may have a similar preparatory role in addictive substance use. In FH+ subjects, the striatal-SSMA connectivity was positive as opposed to negative for FH− during reward anticipation, potentially representing significant inefficiencies between salience assignation and action.
