Altered Brain Reactivity to Food Cues in Undergraduate Students with Disordered Eating Behaviors
Joao C. Hiluy,
Isabel A. David,
Isabela Lobo,
Filipe Braga,
Thayane Fernandes,
Naiane Beatriz Ferreira,
Maria Francisca F. P. Mauro,
Jose C. Appolinario
Affiliations
Joao C. Hiluy
Obesity and Eating Disorders Group, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22290-140, Brazil
Isabel A. David
Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology, Physiology and Pharmacology Department, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University, Niteroi 24210-130, Brazil
Isabela Lobo
Psychobiology Group, Integrated Morphology Laboratory, Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Macae 27965-045, Brazil
Filipe Braga
Psychobiology Group, Institute of Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Macae 27930-560, Brazil
Thayane Fernandes
Psychobiology Group, Integrated Morphology Laboratory, Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Macae 27965-045, Brazil
Naiane Beatriz Ferreira
Psychobiology Group, Integrated Morphology Laboratory, Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Macae 27965-045, Brazil
Maria Francisca F. P. Mauro
Obesity and Eating Disorders Group, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22290-140, Brazil
Jose C. Appolinario
Obesity and Eating Disorders Group, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22290-140, Brazil
Purpose: A growing body of evidence has shown that electroencephalography (EEG) is an interesting method of assessing the underlying brain physiology associated with disordered eating. Using EEG, we sought to evaluate brain reactivity to hyper-palatable food cues in undergraduate students with disordered eating behavior (DEB). Methods: After assessing the eating behaviors of twenty-six undergraduate students using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), electroencephalographic signals were recorded while the participants were presented with pictures of hyper-palatable food. The current study used a temporospatial principal component analysis (PCA) approach to identify event-related potential (ERP) responses that differed between DEB and non-DEB individuals. Results: A temporospatial PCA applied to the ERPs identified a positivity with a maximum amplitude at 347 ms at the occipital–temporal electrodes in response to pictures of hyper-palatable food. This positivity was correlated with the EAT-26 scores. Participants with DEB showed reduced positivities in this component compared with those without DEB. Conclusion: Our findings may reflect greater motivated attention toward hyper-palatable food cues in undergraduate students with DEB. These results are an important step toward obtaining a more refined understanding of specific abnormalities related to reactivity to food cues in this population.
