Habituation as a determinant of human food intake.
Research has shown that animals and humans habituate on a variety of behavioral and physiological responses to repeated presentations of food cues, and habituation is related to amount of food consumed and cessation of eating. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of experimental paradigms used to study habituation, integrate a theoretical approach to habituation to food based on memory and associative conditioning models, and review research on factors that influence habituation. Individual differences in habituation as they relate to obesity and eating disorders are reviewed, along with research on how individual differences in memory can influence habituation. Other associative conditioning approaches to ingestive behavior are reviewed, as well as how habituation provides novel approaches to preventing or treating obesity. Finally, new directions for habituation research are presented. Habituation provides a novel theoretical framework from which to understand factors that regulate ingestive behavior.
Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14214-3000, USA. LHENET@acsu.buffalo.edu
Leonard H
LH
Epstein
Jennifer L
JL
Temple
James N
JN
Roemmich
Mark E
ME
Bouton
D001245:Association Learning; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology; D003463:Cues; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012527:Satiation