Effects of Semaglutide on Brain Dopamine Responses to Food Cues in Adults With Obesity and Food Addiction Tendencies

NCT07732426 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2501-006-1602
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate how semaglutide affects the way the brain responds to food in adults with obesity and food addiction tendencies. The main goals of this study are:

• To see if semaglutide changes dopamine-related activity in the brain during the look, smell, and drink period.
• To see if semaglutide changes dopamine-related brain signals during the post-ingestive period.
• To see if semaglutide changes psychological survey results and cognitive task results. Adults with obesity and food addiction tendencies will join this study. Each participant will receive semaglutide treatment for 8 weeks. Each participant will have two brain scans using \[11C\]raclopride PET. During each PET scan, participants will:
• View food images.
• Receive chocolate milk through a tube while lying in the scanner.
• Use a tablet during the scan to rate their hunger, desire for the chocolate milk drink, and liking of the drink.

Conditions

Food Addiction Tendency; Obesity; Overweight

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Dopamine Binding Potential During the Look, Smell, and Drink Period

  Dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding potential is measured using \[11C\]raclopride PET during the food cue and drink period. The outcome is the within-participant difference in binding potential between the on-drug and off-drug/post-washout conditions.

  Group A: At Baseline (Day 0) and 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide. Group B: At 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide and 8 weeks after semaglutide discontinuation.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Change in Dopamine Binding Potential During the Post-Ingestive Period

  Group A: At Baseline (Day 0) and 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide. Group B: At 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide and 8 weeks after semaglutide discontinuation.

• State Food Craving Score

  Immediately before and after PET imaging. Group A: At Baseline (Day 0) and 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide. Group B: At 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide and 8 weeks after semaglutide discontinuation.

• Chocolate Milk Liking, Chocolate Milk Wanting, and Fullness Ratings (VAS-100)

  During each 92-minute PET scan, at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 51, 54, 57, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90 minutes.

• Food-Specific Attentional Bias

  Before PET imaging. Group A: At Baseline (Day 0) and 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide. Group B: At 8 weeks (±3 days) after starting semaglutide and 8 weeks after semaglutide discontinuation.

Study Arms (2)

Off Drug then On Drug

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants undergo a baseline \[11C\]raclopride PET scan before semaglutide treatment. They then receive an 8-week semaglutide dose-escalation treatment, followed by a second \[¹¹C\]raclopride PET scan at the end of treatment.

Drug: Semaglutide

On Drug then Off Drug

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants first receive an 8-week semaglutide dose-escalation treatment and undergo a \[¹¹C\]raclopride PET scan at the end of treatment. After an 8-week washout period, they undergo a second \[¹¹C\]raclopride PET scan.

Drug: Semaglutide

Interventions

Semaglutide DRUG

Participants receive an 8-week subcutaneous semaglutide dose-escalation treatment using Wegovy: 0.25 mg once weekly for the first 4 weeks, followed by 0.5 mg once weekly for the next 4 weeks.

Also known as: Wegovy

Off Drug then On Drug; On Drug then Off Drug

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 19 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Participants aged between 19 and 50 years.
• Eligible for treatment with semaglutide, defined as either:
• Initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher; or
• Initial BMI of 27 kg/m2 to less than 30 kg/m2 with at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as dysglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, or cardiovascular disease.
• Mild or greater food addiction tendency, defined as a Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) score of 3 or higher.
• Able to understand the study tasks and provide appropriate responses.

You may not qualify if:

• Use of medications that may affect body weight or dopaminergic medications within the past 2 months.
• Known hypersensitivity to semaglutide.
• Pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant.
• Severe renal impairment, hepatic impairment, heart failure, acute pancreatitis, or thyroid disease.
• Any medical condition, disease, or medical history that, in the investigator's judgment, would make it difficult for the participant to complete the study or would interfere with interpretation of the study results.
• Allergy to ingredients in chocolate milk, including milk or soy, or to ingredients that may be present through cross-contamination, including egg, buckwheat, peanut, wheat, peach, tomato, walnut, pork, or beef.
• Participants with both no self-reported preference for chocolate milk and a chocolate milk preference score of less than 5 on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Seoul National University Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Seoul National University Hospital

Seoul, South Korea

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity; Overweight

Interventions

semaglutide

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Hyung Jin Choi, MD, PhD

  Seoul National University College of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Taesung Lee, MD

CONTACT

+821097262123; nova2123@snu.ac.kr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2026
• First Posted: July 28, 2026
• Study Start: July 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 29, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028
• Last Updated: July 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

KR (1)