Cue-Reactors: Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Craving after Food or Smoking Abstinence

Background: Pavlovian conditioning plays a critical role in both drug addiction and binge eating. Recent animal research suggests that certain individuals are highly sensitive to conditioned cues, whether they signal food or drugs. Are certain humans also more reactive to both food and drug cues? Methods: We examined cue-induced craving for both cigarettes and food, in the same individuals (n = 15 adult smokers). Subjects viewed smoking-related or food-related images after abstaining from either smoking or eating. Results: Certain individuals reported strong cue-induced craving after both smoking and food cues. That is, subjects who reported strong cue-induced craving for cigarettes also rated stronger cue-induced food craving. Conclusions: In humans, like in nonhumans, there may be a ‘‘cue-reactive’ ’ phenotype, consisting of individuals who are highly sensitive to conditioned stimuli. This finding extends recent reports from nonhuman studies. Further understanding this subgroup of smokers may allow clinicians to individually tailor therapies for smoking cessation

I see what I eat and I eat what I see...?: Operationalisierung und Konzeptualisierung des Cue-induzierten Food Cravings im Kontext von Normalgewicht und insbesondere Adipositas mit Binge Eating Disorder

This thesis presents a concept on food craving, particularly its situational components, based on two experimental empirical studies. This is then used to expand on Jansen’s conditional binge eating model (1998). Thus, cue-induced craving extends the construct of state food craving and trait food craving (Cepeda-Benito et al., 2000). Based on the cue-reactivity model (Wardle 1990) and the conditioned incentive model (Havermans, 2013), a new cue-reactivity paradigm is presented, applied and conducted in two studies. The first study has important implications for the elicitation and definition of food craving. The study examined mood-related food craving in healthy women in both hungry and sated states, and found that perceived hunger leads to a general increase in food craving, and that specificity for sweet high fat and high sugar foods (HFHS) is preferably measured in a sated state. The second study involved people with obesity with and without binge eating disorder (BED). The results of this study show that state, trait, and cue-induced craving are significantly higher in people who regularly show disinhibited eating behaviors. These results provide evidence that people with obesity and BED can be described as more cue-reactive to HFHS foods and, therefore, more susceptible to everyday triggers for binge eating in the context of an obesogenic environment. In conclusion, this thesis proposes an integrative model, which supports the treatment strategy of confrontation with response prevention for patients with obesity and comorbid binge eating disorder

Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of cognitive control in ex-obese adults

Impaired cognitive control functions have been documented in obesity. It remains unclear whether these functions normalize after weight reduction. We compared ex-obese individuals, who successfully underwent substantial weight loss after bariatric surgery, to normal weight participants on measures of resistance to interference, cognitive flexibility and response inhibition, obtained from the completion of two Stroop tasks, a Switching task and a Go/NoGo task, respectively. To elucidate the underlying brain mechanisms, event-related potentials (ERPs) in the latter two tasks were examined. As compared to controls, patients were more susceptible to the predominant but task-irrelevant stimulus dimension (i.e., they showed a larger verbal Stroop effect), and were slower in responding on trials requiring a task-set change rather than a task-set repetition (i.e., they showed a larger switch cost). The ERP correlates revealed altered anticipatory control mechanisms (switch positivity) and an exaggerated conflict monitoring response (N2). The results suggest that cognitive control is critical even in ex-obese individuals and should be monitored to promote weight loss maintenance

SOVEREIGN: A Self-Organizing, Vision, Expectation, Recognition, Emotion, Intelligent, Goal-Oriented Navigation System

Both animals and mobile robots, or animats, need adaptive control systems to guide their movements through a novel environment. Such control systems need reactive mechanisms for exploration, and learned plans to efficiently reach goal objects once the environment is familiar. How reactive and planned behaviors interact together in real time, and arc released at the appropriate times, during autonomous navigation remains a major unsolved problern. This work presents an end-to-end model to address this problem, named SOVEREIGN: A Self-Organizing, Vision, Expectation, Recognition, Emotion, Intelligent, Goal-oriented Navigation system. The model comprises several interacting subsystems, governed by systems of nonlinear differential equations. As the animat explores the environment, a vision module processes visual inputs using networks that arc sensitive to visual form and motion. Targets processed within the visual form system arc categorized by real-time incremental learning. Simultaneously, visual target position is computed with respect to the animat's body. Estimates of target position activate a motor system to initiate approach movements toward the target. Motion cues from animat locomotion can elicit orienting head or camera movements to bring a never target into view. Approach and orienting movements arc alternately performed during animat navigation. Cumulative estimates of each movement, based on both visual and proprioceptive cues, arc stored within a motor working memory. Sensory cues are stored in a parallel sensory working memory. These working memories trigger learning of sensory and motor sequence chunks, which together control planned movements. Effective chunk combinations arc selectively enhanced via reinforcement learning when the animat is rewarded. The planning chunks effect a gradual transition from reactive to planned behavior. The model can read-out different motor sequences under different motivational states and learns more efficient paths to rewarded goals as exploration proceeds. Several volitional signals automatically gate the interactions between model subsystems at appropriate times. A 3-D visual simulation environment reproduces the animat's sensory experiences as it moves through a simplified spatial environment. The SOVEREIGN model exhibits robust goal-oriented learning of sequential motor behaviors. Its biomimctic structure explicates a number of brain processes which are involved in spatial navigation.Advanced Research Projects Agency (N00014-92-J-4015); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-92-J-0225, F49620-01-1-0397); National Science Foundation (IRI 90-24877, SBE-0354378); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-4100, N00014-92-J-1309, N00014-95-1-0657, N00014-01-1-0624); Pacific Sierra Research (PSR 91-6075-2

Food after deprivation rewards the earlier eating

Food intake can be increased by learning to anticipate the omission of subsequent meals. We present here a new theory that such anticipatory eating depends on an associative process of instrumental reinforcement by the nutritional repletion that occurs when access to food is restored. Our evidence over the last decade from a smooth-brained omnivore has been that food after deprivation rewards intake even when those reinforced ingestive responses occur long before the physiological signals from renewed assimilation. Effects of food consumed after self-deprivation might therefore reward extra eating in human beings, through brain mechanisms that could operate outside awareness. That would have implications for efforts to reduce body weight. This food reward mechanism could be contributing to the failure of the dietary component of interventions on obesity within controlled trials of the management or prevention of disorders such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes

The executive functions in overweight and obesity: a systematic review of neuropsychological cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Background: The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem. The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research. Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases, such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes. Recently, many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes. Objectives: This systematic review is aimed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight (overweight/obesity) and executive functions, analyzing cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables. Methods: The review was carried out according to the PRISMA-Statement, through systematic searches in the scientific databases PubMed, Medline, PsychInfo, and PsycArticles. The studies selected examined performance on executive tasks by participants with overweight or obesity, aged between 5 and 70 years. Studies examining eating disorders or obesity resulting from other medical problems were excluded. Furthermore, the results of studies using a cross-sectional design and those using a longitudinal one were separately investigated. Results: Sixty-three cross-sectional studies and twenty-eight longitudinal studies that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria were analyzed. The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity, although the directionality of this relation was not clear; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation. Despite this, there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity. Conclusions: This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity. Moreover, it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction. The results of this review highlight the importance of a theoretical model able to consider all the main variables of interest, with the aim to structuring integrated approaches to solve the overweight/obesity problems

Situating interventions to bridge the intention-behaviour gap: A framework for recruiting nonconscious processes for behaviour change

This paper presents a situated cognition framework for creating social psychological interventions to bridge the intention–behaviour gap and illustrates this framework by reviewing examples from the domains of health behaviour, environmental behaviour, stereotyping, and aggression. A recurrent problem in behaviour change is the fact that often, intentions are not translated into behaviour, causing the so-called intention–behaviour gap. Here, it is argued that this happens when situational cues trigger situated conceptualizations, such as habits, impulses, hedonic goals, or stereotypical associations, which can then guide behaviour automatically. To be effective in changing such automatic effects, behaviour change interventions can attempt to change situational cues through cueing interventions such as priming, nudging, upstream policy interventions, or reminders of social norms. Alternatively, behaviour change interventions can attempt to change the underlying situated conceptualizations through training interventions, such as behavioural inhibition training, mindfulness training, or implementation intentions. Examples of situated behaviour change interventions of both types will be discussed across domains, along with recommendations to situate interventions more strongly and thus enhance their effectiveness to change automatic behaviour. Finally, the discussion addresses the difference between tailoring and situating interventions, issues of generalization and long-term effectiveness, and avenues for further research

Design of the PACIFIC study: A randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel treatment for adults with overweight and obesity

The majority of adults in the United States have overweight or obesity which is associated with significant health and psychological consequences. Behavioral Weight Loss (BWL) is the current gold-standard weight-loss program for adults but recidivism rates continue to be disturbingly high. Given the health consequences of excess weight and the lack of long-term effectiveness of BWL, it is important to identify novel weight-loss programs. We developed the ROC (Regulation of Cues) program to reduce overeating through improvement in sensitivity to appetitive cues and decreased responsivity to external food cues. This study is a 4-arm randomized control trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of ROC, ROC combined with BWL, BWL alone and an active comparator over 24 months. Study recruitment completed in November 2017. Two hundred and seventy-one participants were randomized (mean age=46.97 years; 82% female, mean BMI=34.59; 20% Hispanic) and assessments were conducted at baseline, mid-treatment (6 months) and post-treatment (12 months). At this time, participants are completing 6- (18 months) and 12-month (24 months) follow-ups. Targeting novel mechanisms is critically important to improve weight-loss programs. Through this trial, we hope to identify treatments for adults with overweight and obesity to facilitate long-term weight loss and improved health

Attention with a mindful attitude attenuates subjective appetitive reactions and food intake following food-cue exposure.

BACKGROUND: Excessive energy intake that contributes to overweight and obesity is arguably driven by pleasure associated with the rewarding properties of energy-dense palatable foods. It is important to address influences of external food cues in food-abundant societies where people make over 200 food related decisions each day. This study experimentally examines protective effects of a mindful attention induction on appetitive measures, state craving and food intake following exposure to energy-dense foods. METHOD: Forty females were randomly allocated to a standard food-cue exposure condition in which attention is brought to the hedonic properties of food or food-cue exposure following a mindful attention induction. Appetitive reactions were measured pre, post and ten minutes after post-cue exposure, after which a plate of cookies was used as a surreptitious means of measuring food intake. RESULTS: Self-reported hunger remained unchanged and fullness significantly increased for the mindful attention group post-cue exposure whereas hunger significantly increased for the standard attention group and fullness remained unchanged. There was no significant between-group difference in state craving post-cue exposure and ten minutes later. Significantly more cookies were eaten by the standard attention group ten minutes post-cue exposure although no significant between-group differences in appetitive and craving measures were reported at that time. CONCLUSION: Our results point to a promising brief intervention strategy and highlights the importance of distinguishing mindful attention from attention. Results also demonstrate that mindful attention can influence food intake even when craving and hunger are experienced