AzTrials
AzTrials

Food PreferencesNCT06015490

The Impact of the Physiological Response to Sugar on Brain Activity and Behavior

A study testing Sucrose drink, Glucose drink and Fructose drink in people with Food Preferences and Appetitive Behavior, run by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The goal of this pilot study is to test the feasibility of assessing how biological factors and chemical properties of sugars may influence metabolism and food reward in humans. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can differences in appetitive responses and neural activations to sucrose (table sugar) and its… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Food Preferences, Appetitive Behavior
What is being tested?
Sucrose drink, Glucose drink and Fructose drink
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
7 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 Sep 2023to 22 Jul 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 45 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • BMI between 18.5-25 kg/m2
  • Not pregnant or planning to become pregnant during study participation
  • Residing in the Roanoke area and/or willing/able to attend sessions at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) at Virginia Tech Carilion
  • Weigh at least 110 lbs

Who cannot join

  • Current inhaled nicotine use
  • History of alcohol dependence.
  • Current or past diagnosis of cardiometabolic disease or problems, including diabetes, endocrine, heart, or thyroid problems, that may influence study outcomes
  • Hemoglobin A1C >5.7%
  • Taking medications known to influence study measures (including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), allergy, antidepressant, antipsychotic, anxiolytic, birth control, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, thyroid, sleep, or weight loss medications)
  • Active medical or neurologic disorder, including cardiometabolic conditions or gastrointestinal conditions that may influence study outcomes
Show all 16Show fewer
  • Recent change in body weight (gain or loss of > 5 lbs within the past 3 months)
  • Current shift work (typical pattern of work/activity overnight)
  • Previous weight loss surgery
  • Adherence to a special diet within the past 3 months (e.g., low-carb or ketogenic diet, exclusion of food groups/specific macronutrients, intermittent fasting, etc.)
  • Allergy to any food or ingredient included in the study diets, meals, or beverages
  • Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during study participation
  • Claustrophobia
  • Contraindications for MRI, including pacemaker, aneurysm clips, neurostimulators, cochlear or other implants, metal in eyes, regular work with steel, etc. (Note: This is an fMRI-specific exclusion criterion. Participants may be allowed to participate in all other study sessions and measures that do not involve fMRI.)
  • Contraindications for bioelectrical impedance analysis, specifically implanted devices
  • Use of substances (or combinations of substances) in doses and frequencies that could influence neural outcomes of study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion

    Roanoke, Virginia, 24016

Other trials in United States

About this study

The goal of this pilot study is to test the feasibility of assessing how biological factors and chemical properties of sugars may influence metabolism and food reward in humans. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Can differences in appetitive responses and neural activations to sucrose (table sugar) and its chemical components (glucose and fructose) be measured and quantified?

This study is a crossover design, meaning every participant will complete every condition. Participants will consume beverages containing sucrose, glucose, or fructose, which are each novelly flavored, 6 times within a week. During one of the consumption times, energy expenditure, carbohydrate oxidation, and blood glucose will be measured in the lab before and for 2 hours after consumption. After participants have consumed each condition, they will undergo a tasting task in the MRI scanner, neural responses to receipt of the beverages are measured.

Read the detailed description

Prior studies in humans indicate that while energy expenditure response is similar after consumption of equal amounts of fructose, glucose, and sucrose (a dimer of glucose + fructose), carbohydrate oxidation and blood glucose responses differ. Elevated carbohydrate oxidation responses appear to be driven by the presence of fructose, and elevated blood glucose responses appear to be driven by the presence of glucose. Prior work also suggests that post-ingestive signals of glucose availability, measure specifically as blood glucose levels, intestinal glucose transporter activity, and carbohydrate oxidation rate, are all associated with elevated brain response to calorie-predictive flavor cues and reward learning of these flavor cues. However, in animal models, glucose has been shown to repeatedly and reliably condition these calorie-predictive learning responses, but fructose does not. Human work has indicated that oxidation of glucose is critical for these responses. Thus, it is unclear what roles fructose and glucose each play in conditioning reward responses and flavor-calorie learning. We hypothesize that fructose plays a synergistic role in enhancing flavor-calorie learning without itself conditioning the reward response.

Being tested
Sucrose drink, Glucose drink, Fructose drink
Medical subject headings
Food Preferences, Appetitive Behavior

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Sucrose drinkOther

    Also called Flavored beverage solution with 110 calories of sucrose

    Participants will consume flavored beverage solutions containing 110 calories of sucrose in 6 exposure sessions within 1 week. One exposure session will include pre- and post-consumption blood draws and indirect calorimetry measurements inside a metabolic chamber over a 2-hour period. The other 5 exposure sessions will occur at specified times outside the laboratory sessions. Subjective ratings of internal state (i.e., hunger, fullness, and thirst) will be collected throughout each exposure. Subjective ratings of liking and wanting of each beverage will also be assessed.

  • Glucose drinkOther

    Also called Flavored beverage solution with 110 calories of glucose

    Participants will consume flavored beverage solutions containing 110 calories of glucose in 6 exposure sessions within 1 week. One exposure session will include pre- and post-consumption blood draws and indirect calorimetry measurements inside a metabolic chamber over a 2-hour period. The other 5 exposure sessions will occur at specified times outside the laboratory sessions. Subjective ratings of internal state (i.e., hunger, fullness, and thirst) will be collected throughout each exposure. Subjective ratings of liking and wanting of each beverage will also be assessed.

  • Fructose drinkOther

    Also called Flavored beverage solution with 110 calories of fructose

    Participants will consume flavored beverage solutions containing 110 calories of fructose in 6 exposure sessions within 1 week. One exposure session will include pre- and post-consumption blood draws and indirect calorimetry measurements inside a metabolic chamber over a 2-hour period. The other 5 exposure sessions will occur at specified times outside the laboratory sessions. Subjective ratings of internal state (i.e., hunger, fullness, and thirst) will be collected throughout each exposure. Subjective ratings of liking and wanting of each beverage will also be assessed.

Study groups in NCT06015490
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Sucrose, then Glucose, then FructoseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink
Sucrose, then Fructose, then GlucoseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink
Glucose, then Fructose, then SucroseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink
Glucose, then Sucrose, then FructoseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink
Fructose, then Glucose, then SucroseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink
Fructose, then Sucrose, then GlucoseExperimentalParticipants will consume a 110 kcal fructose drink 6 times during 1 week. Then, they will consume a 110 kcal sucrose drink 6 times during 1 week, and then, a 110 kcal glucose drink 6 times during 1 week.
Receives: Other: Sucrose drink; Other: Glucose drink; Other: Fructose drink

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in Preference- Subjective Liking Ratings for Each Beverage on a Scale

    Subjective ratings of liking of flavors used in the intervention will be assessed at baseline and after the intervention. The generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale will be used. The scale is anchored by descriptors of "Most Disliked Sensation Imaginable" and "Most Liked Sensation Imaginable" at the lower and upper ends, respectively. The score is determined by the place on the scale participants select (range of scale is 0-100). An increase in score from baseline to post-intervention indicates an increase in liking.

    Measured: Immediately after informed consent and in the post-test session approximately 5 weeks later

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Post-Test Measure of Preference- Subjective Wanting Ratings for Each Beverage on a Scale

    Subjective ratings of liking of flavors used in the intervention will be assessed at baseline and after the intervention. A Visual Analog Scale will be used. Participants select a place on the line that corresponds with their subjective rating, and the score is determined by the place selected (range of scores is 0-100). The line is anchored by polar opposite descriptors ("Do not want at all" and "Want very much"). An increase in score from baseline to post-intervention indicates and increase in wanting.

    Measured: At the end of study; approximately 5 weeks after first session

  2. Post-Test Measure of Preference - Wanting (ad Libitum Intake): The Amount Consumed of Each Beverage is Reported as the Outcome

    Ad libitum intake will be used as a measure of wanting in a post-test session. Participants will be provided each beverage used during the intervention and asked to drink as much or as little of them as they would like over a 30-minute period.

    Measured: At the end of study; approximately 5 weeks after first session

  3. Post-Test Measure of Preference- Wanting (Forced Choice): Number of Participants Who Chose Each Indicated Beverage

    Forced choice will be used as a measure of wanting in a post-test session. Participants will be provided each of the beverages used during the intervention and asked to choose 1 to take home with them.

    Measured: At the end of study; approximately 5 weeks after first session

  4. Blood Oxygen Level-dependent (BOLD) Response to Beverages

    In a post-test session, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were performed while beverages (without calories) used during the intervention and a tasteless solution are delivered through a custom manifold fitted to a head coil and connected to a pump system that allows precisely timed and measured delivery of liquids. Participants receive the glucose, sucrose, fructose, and tasteless (control) solutions 18 times each over the course of 2 runs. Contrasts of interest are the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response of glucose+>tasteless solution, sucrose>tasteless solution, and fructose>tasteless deliveries. Parameter estimates for these contrasts are extracted and reported. A positive outcome reflects greater whole-brain BOLD response for the sugar condition compared with a tasteless solution.

    Measured: At the end of study; approximately 5 weeks after first session

  5. Blood Glucose Response to Beverages

    Blood glucose will be assessed at baseline and at set time points for 2 hours after consumption of intervention beverages (baseline, 5-, 20-, 40-, 60-, 90-, and 120-minutes after drink consumption)in one exposure session. Area under the curve is calculated using these time points and reported as the outcome measure.

    Measured: Each week for 3 weeks during the study

  6. Energy Expenditure in Response to Beverages

    Indirect calorimetry will be used to determine energy expenditure at baseline and for 120 minutes after consumption of condition beverages in an exposure session. Area under the curve is calculated as a change from baseline energy expenditure using minute-by-minute resolution across 120 minutes and reported as the outcome measure.

    Measured: Each week for 3 weeks during the study

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted29 Aug 2023
  2. Study start1 Sep 2023
  3. Primary completion22 Jul 2024
  4. Study completion22 Jul 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
7 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06015490
Sponsor's protocol ID
#23-297
Status last verified
Aug 2025
First submitted
3 May 2023
Last updated
11 Sep 2025
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Sucrose drink, Glucose drink and Fructose drink in people with Food Preferences and Appetitive Behavior, run by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 16 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 11 Sep 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Preference- Subjective Liking Ratings for Each Beverage on a Scale (time frame: Immediately after informed consent and in the post-test session approximately 5 weeks later). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Sep 2025.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in