Obesity and Brain Function

This compendium provides a wide view covering everything from molecular mechanisms and risk factors for neurological disorders to the effects of bariatric surgery on brain function and functional neuroimaging applied to obesity research. The impact of obesity on brain function and the development of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders has been understudied, despite the recent proliferation of obesity research. Among the topics covered are adipose biology, the adipose tissue - gut - brain axis, brain energy metabolism, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, and multiple sclerosis.

About the Author

Liliana Letra received her M.D. and Masters in Medicine from University of Coimbra, Portugal and her Neurology specialization from Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Portugal. She is clinical neurologist at Centro Hospitalar do Baixo Vouga, Aveiro, Portugal and has a special interest in cognitive disorders. She is also Invited Assistant of Medical Physiology at Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Portugal. She develops her investigation and PhD Project in the field of obesity and dementia and her research interest is primarily the association of metabolic diseases and cognitive function.

Raquel Seiça received her M.D. and her PhD and Aggregation in Medicine from University of Coimbra, Portugal. She is Full Professor of Physiology-Medicine and Head of the Institute of Physiology at the same University. She is also Investigator of the Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences-IBILI-Faculty of Medicine and Collaborator Investigator in the Center for Classical and Humanistic Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra. Her scientific interests lie in diabetes mellitus and obesity. She is author of 130 peer-reviewed papers, 13 book chapters, 193 peer-reviewed published abstracts and 477 presentations. She supervised 3 post-doctoral projects, 9 PhD Thesis, 36 Master Thesis and 46 Research Program Training.