P50 Sensory Gating Deficit in Obese Individuals

Objective: Obesity may cause cognitive dysfunctions such as attention, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning. However, little is known about how obesity can affect cognitive functions in obese individuals. Sensory gating shows the early pre-attention period in information processing and is accepted to be the result of the integration of multi-step procedures that can be tested with the double click P50 paradigm. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in cognitive functions with sensory gating in obese individuals. Methods : A total of 31 obese individuals and age- and sex-matched healthy 24 control subjects were included in the study. The latencies and amplitude P50 waves were measured in the healthy controls and obese individuals. Also the P50 sensory gating was calculated. Results : We found a significant difference between the obese group and controls regarding the amplitude of the first P50 wave (p<0.048). The obese group showed reduced P50 sensory gating as compared to controls (p<0.004). Conclusion: The findings suggest that obese individuals have a sensory gating abnormality seems to be a result of cholinergic dysfunction. This results may help explain congnitive impairment in obese individuals.