title: Neurofeedback of visual food cue reactivity: a potential avenue to alter incentive sensitization and craving.
abstract: FMRI-based neurofeedback transforms functional brain activation in real-time into sensory stimuli that participants can use to self-regulate brain responses, which can aid the modification of mental states and behavior. Emerging evidence supports the clinical utility of neurofeedback-guided up-regulation of hypoactive networks. In contrast, down-regulation of hyperactive neural circuits appears more difficult to achieve. There are conditions though, in which down-regulation would be clinically useful, including dysfunctional motivational states elicited by salient reward cues, such as food or drug craving. In this proof-of-concept study, 10 healthy females (mean age = 21.40 years, mean BMI = 23.53) who had fasted for 4 h underwent a novel 'motivational neurofeedback' training in which they learned to down-regulate brain activation during exposure to appetitive food pictures. FMRI feedback was given from individually determined target areas and through decreases/increases in food picture size, thus providing salient motivational consequences in terms of cue approach/avoidance. Our preliminary findings suggest that motivational neurofeedback is associated with functionally specific activation decreases in diverse cortical/subcortical regions, including key motivational areas. There was also preliminary evidence for a reduction of hunger after neurofeedback and an association between down-regulation success and the degree of hunger reduction. Decreasing neural cue responses by motivational neurofeedback may provide a useful extension of existing behavioral methods that aim to modulate cue reactivity. Our pilot findings indicate that reduction of neural cue reactivity is not achieved by top-down regulation but arises in a bottom-up manner, possibly through implicit operant shaping of target area activity.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK. niklas.ihssen@durham.ac.uk.|Department of Psychology, Durham University, Queen's Campus, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 6BH, UK. niklas.ihssen@durham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ihssen
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.|MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK.|Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, 34136, Italy.
authors.forename: Moses O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Sokunbi
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4SB, UK.
authors.forename: Natalia S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.|MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK.
authors.forename: David E J
authors.initials: DEJ
authors.lastname: Linden
mesh_terms: D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D066249:Craving / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D058765:Neurofeedback / Q000379:methods; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D000075082:Proof of Concept Study; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Addiction; Brain imaging; Craving; Food pictures; Neurofeedback; Obesity; Visual cue reactivity; fMRI