The interplay between a dietary preference for fat and sugar, gene expression in the dopaminergic system and executive cognition in humans

Obesity is a health issue of both individual and global importance. Evidence from rodent literature suggests that dietary preferences for fat and sugar might influence dopaminergic signaling in the brain and thus executive cognition. These diet-related changes could provide a mechanistic basis potentially explaining obesity-promoting behaviour. However, valid evidence for this link in humans is still scarce. This thesis aimed to add to this gap by studying dopamine-related gene expression profiles in peripheral cells and executive cognition in a human sample (n = 75). The results provide indications for an association between dietary preference and alterations in dopamingeric sigaling on a peripheral gene expression level even though the group differences were not statistically significant. A link to cognition could not be established with the methods applied. Yet, several targets for future research are suggested to further explore this interplay