Brain Responses to Food Cue Viewing in Pregnant Women With and Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Pregnancy-induced food cravings are frequently associated with excessive gestational weight gain and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying these behavioral changes is critical for developing targeted interventions. This study aimed to measure brain responses to food pictures with varying fat and carbohydrate content during pregnancy in women with and without GDM. To characterize brain-metabolism coupling, researchers recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in pregnant individuals at 24-36 weeks gestation while they viewed food images categorized by macronutrient composition.

Eighteen women with untreated GDM and 21 healthy pregnant controls participated in the investigation. HbA1c levels were obtained from blood samples to assess glycemic control. Statistical analyses assessed group differences and interactions between stimulus type and metabolic status. Within the initial ~150 ms post-stimulus onset, VEPs exhibited a significant Group × Fat interaction (p = 0.047, ηp2 = 0.103), but no Group × Carb interaction was observed. Healthy pregnant controls demonstrated stronger neural responses to images of high- versus low-fat foods, whereas individuals with GDM did not show this differential response pattern.

Source estimations localized these effects to brain regions associated with control, attention, and reward processing. These findings suggest that the neural mechanisms for processing dietary cues may be altered in women with GDM compared to healthy controls. Moreover, brain responses correlated with HbA1c levels in the GDM group (p = 0.01, ηp2 = 0.351), but did not correlate with pre-pregnancy BMI in either group. These results provide evidence of links between spatiotemporal brain responses to visual food cues and metabolic health in pregnancy.

This research highlights the potential utility of electrical neuroimaging for investigating early-stage neural adaptations to dietary stimuli in high-risk populations. The dissociation between fat and carbohydrate processing may reflect distinct regulatory pathways involved in energy homeostasis during gestation. Future studies should explore whether these neural signatures predict long-term metabolic outcomes or respond to nutritional interventions.

This research note is provided for laboratory use only. It does not constitute medical advice, clinical recommendations, or a basis for therapeutic decisions. All data presented are derived from published scientific literature and are intended solely for educational and research purposes within accredited institutions.