title: Neural correlates of the volitional regulation of the desire for food.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we investigate the brain mechanisms of the conscious regulation of the desire for food using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Further, we examine associations between hemodynamic responses and participants' cognitive restraint of eating (CRE), as well as their susceptibility to uncontrolled eating.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen non-vegetarian, right-handed, female Caucasian participants (age: 20-30 years, mean 25.3 years±3.1 s.d.; BMI: 20.2-31.2 kg m(-2), mean 25.1±3.5 s.d.).
  
  
  METHODS
  During scanning, our participants viewed pictures of food items they had pre-rated according to tastiness and healthiness. Participants were either allowed to admit to the desire for the food (ADMIT) or they were instructed to downregulate their desire using a cognitive reappraisal strategy, that is, thinking of negative long-term health-related and social consequences (REGULATE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparing the hemodynamic responses of the REGULATE with the ADMIT condition, we observed robust activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the pre-supplementary motor area, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the dorsal striatum (DS), the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the anterior insula and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Activation in the DLPFC and the DS strongly correlated with the degree of dietary restraint under both conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cortical activation in the DLPFC, the pre-supplementary motor area and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) are known to underpin top-down control, inhibition of learned associations and pre-potent responses. The observed hemodynamic responses in the lateral OFC, the DS, the anterior insula and the TPJ support the notion of reward valuation and integration, interoceptive awareness, and self-reflection as key processes during active regulation of desire for food. In conclusion, an active reappraisal of unhealthy food recruits the brain's valuation system in combination with prefrontal cognitive control areas associated with response inhibition. The correlations between brain responses and CRE suggest that individuals with increased cognitive restraint show an automatic predisposition to regulate the hedonic aspects of food stimuli. This cognitive control might be necessary to counterbalance a lack of homeostatic mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1A, Leipzig, Germany. mhollmann@cbs.mpg.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hollmann
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hellrung
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pleger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schlögl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kabisch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stumvoll
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horstmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001069:Appetite Regulation; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012527:Satiation / Q000502:physiology*; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014836:Volition