Background: Bariatric surgery is proven to change eating behavior and cause sustained weight loss, yet the exact mechanisms underlying these changes are not clearly understood. We explore this in a novel way by examining how bariatric surgery affects the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) axis.
Methods: Patient demographics, serum, stool, eating behavior questionnaires, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were collected before and 6 months after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Differences in eating behavior and brain morphology and resting-state functional connectivity in core reward regions were correlated with serum metabolite and 16S microbiome data.
Results: LSG resulted in significant weight loss and improvement in maladaptive eating behaviors as measured by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). Brain imaging showed a significant increase in brain volume of the putamen (p.adj < 0.05) and amygdala (p.adj < 0.05) after surgery. Resting-state connectivity between the precuneus and the putamen was significantly reduced after LSG (p.adj = 0.046). This change was associated with YFAS symptom count. Bacteroides, Ruminococcus, and Holdemanella were associated with reduced connectivity between these areas. Metabolomic profiles showed a positive correlation between this brain connection and a phosphatidylcholine metabolite.
Conclusion: Bariatric surgery modulates brain networks that affect eating behavior, potentially through effects on the gut microbiota and its metabolites.
Keywords: bariatric surgery; brain; brain–gut–microbiome axis; metabolite; obesity.