1
|
Banca P, Herrojo Ruiz M, Gonzalez-Zalba MF, Biria M, Marzuki AA, Piercy T, Sule A, Fineberg NA, Robbins TW. Action sequence learning, habits, and automaticity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. eLife 2024; 12:RP87346. [PMID: 38722306 PMCID: PMC11081634 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the goal/habit imbalance theory of compulsion in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which postulates enhanced habit formation, increased automaticity, and impaired goal/habit arbitration. It directly tests these hypotheses using newly developed behavioral tasks. First, OCD patients and healthy participants were trained daily for a month using a smartphone app to perform chunked action sequences. Despite similar procedural learning and attainment of habitual performance (measured by an objective automaticity criterion) by both groups, OCD patients self-reported higher subjective habitual tendencies via a recently developed questionnaire. Subsequently, in a re-evaluation task assessing choices between established automatic and novel goal-directed actions, both groups were sensitive to re-evaluation based on monetary feedback. However, OCD patients, especially those with higher compulsive symptoms and habitual tendencies, showed a clear preference for trained/habitual sequences when choices were based on physical effort, possibly due to their higher attributed intrinsic value. These patients also used the habit-training app more extensively and reported symptom relief post-study. The tendency to attribute higher intrinsic value to familiar actions may be a potential mechanism leading to compulsions and an important addition to the goal/habit imbalance hypothesis in OCD. We also highlight the potential of smartphone app training as a habit reversal therapeutic tool.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paula Banca
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Maria Herrojo Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Marjan Biria
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Aleya A Marzuki
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Thomas Piercy
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Akeem Sule
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Naomi A Fineberg
- Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation TrustWelwyn Garden CityUnited Kingdom
- University of HertfordshireHatfieldUnited Kingdom
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Baratta MV, Seligman MEP, Maier SF. From helplessness to controllability: toward a neuroscience of resilience. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1170417. [PMID: 37229393 PMCID: PMC10205144 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1170417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
"Learned helplessness" refers to debilitating outcomes, such as passivity and increased fear, that follow an uncontrollable adverse event, but do not when that event is controllable. The original explanation argued that when events are uncontrollable the animal learns that outcomes are independent of its behavior, and that this is the active ingredient in producing the effects. Controllable adverse events, in contrast, fail to produce these outcomes because they lack the active uncontrollability element. Recent work on the neural basis of helplessness, however, takes the opposite view. Prolonged exposure to aversive stimulation per se produces the debilitation by potent activation of serotonergic neurons in the brainstem dorsal raphe nucleus. Debilitation is prevented with an instrumental controlling response, which activates prefrontal circuitry detecting control and subsequently blunting the dorsal raphe nucleus response. Furthermore, learning control alters the prefrontal response to future adverse events, thereby preventing debilitation and producing long-term resiliency. The general implications of these neuroscience findings may apply to psychological therapy and prevention, in particular by suggesting the importance of cognitions and control, rather than habits of control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael V. Baratta
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Martin E. P. Seligman
- Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Steven F. Maier
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Smeets T, Ashton SM, Roelands SJ, Quaedflieg CW. Does stress consistently favor habits over goal-directed behaviors? Data from two preregistered exact replication studies. Neurobiol Stress 2023; 23:100528. [PMID: 36861028 PMCID: PMC9969070 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Instrumental learning is controlled by two distinct parallel systems: goal-directed (action-outcome) and habitual (stimulus-response) processes. Seminal research by Schwabe and Wolf (2009, 2010) has demonstrated that stress renders behavior more habitual by decreasing goal-directed control. More recent studies yielded equivocal evidence for a stress-induced shift towards habitual responding, yet these studies used different paradigms to evaluate instrumental learning or used different stressors. Here, we performed exact replications of the original studies by exposing participants to an acute stressor either before (cf. Schwabe and Wolf, 2009) or directly after (cf. Schwabe and Wolf, 2010) an instrumental learning phase in which they had learned that distinct actions led to distinct, rewarding food outcomes (i.e., instrumental learning). Then, following an outcome devaluation phase in which one of the food outcomes was consumed until participants were satiated, action-outcome associations were tested in extinction. Despite successful instrumental learning and outcome devaluation and increased subjective and physiological stress levels following stress exposure, the stress and no-stress groups in both replication studies responded indifferently to valued and devalued outcomes. That is, non-stressed participants failed to demonstrate goal-directed behavioral control, thereby rendering the critical test of a shift from goal-directed to habitual control in the stress group inapt. Several reasons for these replication failures are discussed, including the rather indiscriminate devaluation of outcomes that may have contributed to indifferent responding during extinction, which emphasize the need to further our understanding of the boundary conditions in research aimed at demonstrating a stress-induced shift towards habitual control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tom Smeets
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands,Corresponding author.
| | - Stephanie M. Ashton
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands,Department of Neuropsychology & Neuropharmacology, Maastricht University, the Netherlands
| | - Simone J.A.A. Roelands
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Lojowska M, Gross J, De Dreu CKW. Anticipatory Threat Mitigates the Breakdown of Group Cooperation. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:87-98. [PMID: 36287184 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221104037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are exposed to environmental and economic threats that can profoundly affect individual survival and group functioning. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that threat exposure can increase collective action, the effects of threat on decision-making have been mainly investigated at the individual level. Here we examine how threat exposure and concomitant physiological responses modulate cooperation in small groups. Individuals (N = 105, ages 18-34 years) in groups of three were exposed to threat of electric shocks while deciding how much to contribute to a public good. Threat of shock induced a state of physiological freezing and, compared with no-threat conditions, reduced free riding and enabled groups to maintain higher cooperation over time. Exploratory analyses revealed that more cooperative responses under threat were driven by stronger baseline prosociality, suggesting that habitual prosociality is reinforced under threat. The current results support the view that human groups respond to outside threat with increased cooperation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jörg Gross
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition.,Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich
| | - Carsten K W De Dreu
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition.,Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Meier JK, Staresina BP, Schwabe L. Stress diminishes outcome but enhances response representations during instrumental learning. eLife 2022; 11:e67517. [PMID: 35848803 PMCID: PMC9355560 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress may shift behavioural control from a goal-directed system that encodes action-outcome relationships to a habitual system that learns stimulus-response associations. Although this shift to habits is highly relevant for stress-related psychopathologies, limitations of existing behavioural paradigms hinder research from answering the fundamental question of whether the stress-induced bias to habits is due to reduced outcome processing or enhanced response processing at the time of stimulus presentation, or both. Here, we used EEG-based multivariate pattern analysis to decode neural outcome representations crucial for goal-directed control, as well as response representations during instrumental learning. We show that stress reduced outcome representations but enhanced response representations. Both were directly associated with a behavioural index of habitual responding. Furthermore, changes in outcome and response representations were uncorrelated, suggesting that these may reflect distinct processes. Our findings indicate that habitual behaviour under stress may be the result of both enhanced stimulus-response processing and diminished outcome processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Bernhard P Staresina
- Department of Experimental Psychology, and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Universität HamburgHamburgGermany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hartogsveld B, Quaedflieg CWEM, van Ruitenbeek P, Smeets T. Decreased putamen activation in balancing goal-directed and habitual behavior in binge eating disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 136:105596. [PMID: 34839081 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Acute stress is associated with a shift from goal-directed to habitual behavior. This stress-induced preference for habitual behavior has been suggested as a potential mechanism by which binge eating disorder (BED) patients succumb to eating large amounts of high-caloric foods in an uncontrolled manner (i.e., binge episodes). While in healthy subjects the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior is subserved by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insular cortex, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior caudate nucleus, and posterior putamen, the brain mechanism that underlies this (possibly amplified) stress-induced behavioral shift in BED patients is currently unknown. In the current study, 76 participants (38 BED, 38 healthy controls (HCs)) learned six stimulus-response-outcome associations in a well-established instrumental learning task. Subsequently, three outcomes were selectively devalued, after which participants underwent either a stress induction procedure (Maastricht Acute Stress Test; MAST) or a no-stress control procedure. Next, the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior was assessed during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Findings show that the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior was associated with activity in the ACC, insula, and OFC in no-stress HCs. Although stress and BED did not modulate the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior, BED participants displayed a smaller difference in putamen activation between trials probing goal-directed and habitual behavior compared with HCs when using a ROI approach. We conclude that putamen activity differences between BED and HC could reflect changes in monitoring of response accuracy or reward value, albeit perhaps not sufficiently to induce a measurable shift from goal-directed to habitual behavior. Future research could clarify potential boundary conditions of stress-induced shifts in instrumental behavior in BED patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B Hartogsveld
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
| | - C W E M Quaedflieg
- Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
| | - P van Ruitenbeek
- Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
| | - T Smeets
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychological and Somatic disorders, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Volume and Connectivity Differences in Brain Networks Associated with Cognitive Constructs of Binge Eating. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0080-21.2021. [PMID: 35064023 PMCID: PMC8856709 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0080-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) are characterized by episodes of eating large amounts of food while experiencing a loss of control. Recent studies suggest that the underlying causes of BN/BED consist of a complex system of environmental cues, atypical processing of food stimuli, altered behavioral responding, and structural/functional brain differences compared with healthy controls (HC). In this narrative review, we provide an integrative account of the brain networks associated with the three cognitive constructs most integral to BN and BED, namely increased reward sensitivity, decreased cognitive control, and altered negative affect and stress responding. We show altered activity in BED/BN within several brain networks, specifically in the striatum, insula, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and cingulate gyrus. Numerous key nodes in these networks also differ in volume and connectivity compared with HC. We provide suggestions for how this integration may guide future research into these brain networks and cognitive constructs.
Collapse
|
8
|
Pool ER, Gera R, Fransen A, Perez OD, Cremer A, Aleksic M, Tanwisuth S, Quail S, Ceceli AO, Manfredi DA, Nave G, Tricomi E, Balleine B, Schonberg T, Schwabe L, O'Doherty JP. Determining the effects of training duration on the behavioral expression of habitual control in humans: a multilaboratory investigation. Learn Mem 2022; 29:16-28. [PMID: 34911800 PMCID: PMC8686594 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053413.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
It has been suggested that there are two distinct and parallel mechanisms for controlling instrumental behavior in mammals: goal-directed actions and habits. To gain an understanding of how these two systems interact to control behavior, it is essential to characterize the mechanisms by which the balance between these systems is influenced by experience. Studies in rodents have shown that the amount of training governs the relative expression of these two systems: Behavior is goal-directed following moderate training, but the more extensively an instrumental action is trained, the more it becomes habitual. It is less clear whether humans exhibit similar training effects on the expression of goal-directed and habitual behavior, as human studies have reported contradictory findings. To tackle these contradictory findings, we formed a consortium, where four laboratories undertook a preregistered experimental induction of habits by manipulating the amount of training. There was no statistical evidence for a main effect of the amount of training on the formation and expression of habits. However, exploratory analyses suggest a moderating effect of the affective component of stress on the impact of training over habit expression. Participants who were lower in affective stress appeared to be initially goal-directed, but became habitual with increased training, whereas participants who were high in affective stress were already habitual even after moderate training, thereby manifesting insensitivity to overtraining effects. Our findings highlight the importance of the role of moderating variables such as individual differences in stress and anxiety when studying the experimental induction of habits in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva R Pool
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva 1202, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva 1202, Switzerland
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Rani Gera
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Neurobiology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Aniek Fransen
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Omar D Perez
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Nuffield College Centre for Experimental Social Sciences Santiago, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Santiago, Santiago 9170022, Chile
| | | | - Mladena Aleksic
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Leiden, Leiden 2333, the Netherlands
| | - Sandy Tanwisuth
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Stephanie Quail
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Ahmet O Ceceli
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA
| | - Dylan A Manfredi
- Marketing Department, the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Gideon Nave
- Marketing Department, the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Elizabeth Tricomi
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA
| | - Bernard Balleine
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Tom Schonberg
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Neurobiology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | | | - John P O'Doherty
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
van Ruitenbeek P, Quaedflieg CWEM, Hernaus D, Hartogsveld B, Smeets T. Dopaminergic and noradrenergic modulation of stress-induced alterations in brain activation associated with goal-directed behaviour. J Psychopharmacol 2021; 35:1449-1463. [PMID: 34519561 PMCID: PMC8652367 DOI: 10.1177/02698811211044679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute stress is thought to reduce goal-directed behaviour, an effect purportedly associated with stress-induced release of catecholamines. In contrast, experimentally increased systemic catecholamine levels have been shown to increase goal-directed behaviour. Whether experimentally increased catecholamine function can modulate stress-induced reductions in goal-directed behaviour and its neural substrates, is currently unknown. AIM To assess whether and how experimentally induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline contribute to the acute stress effects on goal-directed behaviour and associated brain activation. METHODS One hundred participants underwent a stress induction protocol (Maastricht acute stress test; MAST) or a control procedure and received methylphenidate (MPH) (40 mg, oral) or placebo according to a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. In a well-established instrumental learning paradigm, participants learnt stimulus-response-outcome associations, after which rewards were selectively devalued. Participants' brain activation and associated goal-directed behaviour were assessed in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner at peak cortisol/MPH concentrations. RESULTS The MAST and MPH increased physiological measures of stress (salivary cortisol and blood pressure), but only MAST increased subjective measures of stress. MPH modulated stress effects on activation of brain areas associated with goal-directed behaviour, including insula, putamen, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, frontal pole and orbitofrontal cortex. However, MPH did not modulate the tendency of stress to induce a reduction in goal-directed behaviour. CONCLUSION Our neuroimaging data suggest that MPH-induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline reverse stress-induced changes in key brain regions associated with goal-directed behaviour, while behavioural effects were absent. These effects may be relevant for preventing stress-induced maladaptive behaviour like in addiction or binge eating disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter van Ruitenbeek
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands,Peter van Ruitenbeek, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, Maastricht 6229 ER, The Netherlands.
| | - Conny WEM Quaedflieg
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Dennis Hernaus
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Bart Hartogsveld
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Tom Smeets
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands,CoRPS – Center of Research on Psychological and Somatic Diseases, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Problematic eating as an issue of habitual control. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 110:110294. [PMID: 33662535 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Obesity has reached alarming rates worldwide. Although many people attempt to control weight by modifying their food-related behaviours, this typically only has short-term effects and most dieters regain the weight that was lost. Why do so many people struggle to regulate their food-related behaviours? One possible explanation is that these behaviours have become habits that are not immediately sensitive to their consequences. Here we review experimental evidence for a shift to habitual control over food-related behaviours and the neural systems that control them and how this relates to difficulty changing ones' eating behavior.
Collapse
|
11
|
Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Domes
- Biological and Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Christian Frings
- Experimental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| |
Collapse
|