title: Psychological and Neurobiological Correlates of Food Addiction.
abstract: Food addiction (FA) is loosely defined as hedonic eating behavior involving the consumption of highly palatable foods (ie, foods high in salt, fat, and sugar) in quantities beyond homeostatic energy requirements. FA shares some common symptomology with other pathological eating disorders, such as binge eating. Current theories suggest that FA shares both behavioral similarities and overlapping neural correlates to other substance addictions. Although preliminary, neuroimaging studies in response to food cues and the consumption of highly palatable food in individuals with FA compared to healthy controls have shown differing activation patterns and connectivity in brain reward circuits including regions such as the striatum, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and nucleus accumbens. Additional effects have been noted in the hypothalamus, a brain area responsible for regulating eating behaviors and peripheral satiety networks. FA is highly impacted by impulsivity and mood. Chronic stress can negatively affect hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, thus influencing eating behavior and increasing desirability of highly palatable foods. Future work will require clearly defining FA as a distinct diagnosis from other eating disorders.
authors: Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States; SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States. Electronic address: ekalon@paloaltou.edu.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Kalon
authors: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States.
authors: J Y
authors: JY
authors: Hong
authors: Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States; National Center for PTSD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System Menlo Park Division, Menlo Park, CA, United States.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Tobin
authors: Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States; SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Schulte
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D009446:Neurobiology; D059906:Neuroimaging; D012201:Reward
keywords: Addictive behavior; Connectivity; Eating addiction; Food addiction; Food cues; Reward circuitry; fMRI