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Marques CC, Sayal A, Crisóstomo J, Duarte JV, Castilho P, Goss K, Pereira AT, Castelo-Branco M. A neural network underlying cognitive strategies related to eating, weight and body image concerns. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 17:1274817. [PMID: 38318273 PMCID: PMC10839062 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1274817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Concerns about food intake, weight and body shape can trigger negatively loaded emotions, which may prompt the use of cognitive strategies to regulate these emotional states. A novel fMRI task was developed to assess the neurobehavioral correlates of cognitive strategies related to eating, weight and body image concerns, such as self-criticism, avoidance, rumination, and self-reassurance. Fourteen healthy females were presented audio sentences referring to these conditions and instructed to repeat these internally while engaging their thoughts with the content of food or body images. Participants were asked to report the elicited emotion and rate their performance. All cognitive strategies recruited a network including the inferior and superior frontal gyri, orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and dorsal striatum. These brain regions are involved in emotional, reward and inhibitory control processing. Representational similarity analysis revealed distinct patterns of neural responses for each cognitive strategy. Additionally, self-report measures showed that self-criticism was positively associated with superior frontal gyrus (SFG) activation. Self-compassion scores were negatively correlated with activations in the insula and right putamen, while self-reassurance scores were negatively associated with activity in the orbitofrontal cortex. These findings identify a neural network underlying cognitive strategies related to eating, weight and body image concerns, where neurobehavioral correlation patterns depend on the cognitive strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiana C. Marques
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Alexandre Sayal
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Siemens Healthineers, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Joana Crisóstomo
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João V. Duarte
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paula Castilho
- Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenneth Goss
- Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust, Coventry Eating Disorder Service, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Ana T. Pereira
- Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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