{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T14:04:55Z","timestamp":1774620295274,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Rutgers Brain Health Institute Pilot grant"},{"name":"NIH\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t              https:\/\/ror.org\/044zkrt47","award":["R01DK133598-01A1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01DK133598-01A1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Insulin acts in the brain to promote satiety. Aging individuals may have brain insulin resistance and altered appetite perceptions. However, it is unclear if exercise impacts cerebral reward centers and appetite perception in middle-aged to older individuals. Purpose: To assess whether a single exercise bout alters cerebral blood flow (CBF) in reward centers in relation to appetite perceptions. Methods: Fifteen sedentary adults (12F; ~56 \u00b1 2y; ~31 \u00b1 1 kg\/m2) completed a control and acute exercise condition (70% maximal oxygen consumption) in a randomized, counterbalanced order in the evening. Following an overnight fast, CBF in the accumbens, thalamus, and amygdala (pCASL MRI) was evaluated before and after intranasal insulin spray (INI, 40 IU) administration. Plasma glucose and insulin as well as an appetite visual analog scale (VAS) were assessed at fasting, 30, and 90 min post-INI, as well as at 30 min intervals of a 120 min 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Total area under the curve (tAUC) was calculated. Results: Exercise tended to lower blood glucose (p = 0.072) and plasma insulin (p = 0.007) tAUC, compared with rest. Exercise also raised right thalamus (p = 0.029) and left amygdala CBF (p = 0.023). The rise in fasting CBF in these regions, and the accumbens, correlated with reduced insulin tAUC (r = \u22120.55 to \u22120.73, p &lt; 0.050). Although there was no difference in hunger, satisfaction, fullness, or prospective food consumption after exercise, changes in INI-stimulated thalamus CBF related to fullness tAUC after exercise (r = \u22120.57, p = 0.044). Conclusions: A single exercise bout might increase fasting CBF in some brain regions associated with appetite perception through a potential insulin-related mechanism.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18071072","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T12:45:53Z","timestamp":1774615553000},"page":"1072","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Appetite Perception and Cerebral Blood Flow in Aging Adults Following a Single Bout of Exercise"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7360-6711","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven K.","family":"Malin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"},{"name":"New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Translational Medicine and Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniel J.","family":"Battillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David H.","family":"Zald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joslyn","family":"Ramirez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.1016\/S2213-8587(20)30113-3","article-title":"Central nervous pathways of insulin action in the control of metabolism and food intake","volume":"8","author":"Kullmann","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1773","DOI":"10.1007\/s00125-012-2528-y","article-title":"Nasal insulin changes peripheral insulin sensitivity simultaneously with altered activity in homeostatic and reward-related human brain regions","volume":"55","author":"Heni","year":"2012","journal-title":"Diabetologia"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1159\/000341406","article-title":"Intranasal insulin modulates intrinsic reward and prefrontal circuitry of the human brain in lean women","volume":"97","author":"Kullmann","year":"2013","journal-title":"Neuroendocrinology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16052","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms16052","article-title":"Central insulin modulates food valuation via mesolimbic pathways","volume":"8","author":"Tiedemann","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. 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