The neural substrates of the food Go/NoGo task

• Project/Area Number: 19K11715
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Nakamura Yuko 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 特任助教 (00610023)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000); Fiscal Year 2021: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000)
• Keywords: 機能的MRI / 摂食制御 / Food Go/NoGo課題 / オンライン心理課題 / 意思決定 / 食物選択 / 認知行動課題

Outline of Research at the Start

近年、摂食制御の神経回路異常の正常化を目的とした新たな肥満治療法として、過食抑制効果のある認知行動課題が注目されている。しかし、脳画像研究はあまり行われておらず、この認知行動課題による過食抑制効果の神経学的メカニズムはほとんど明らかになっていない。また、追跡調査はほとんどされておらず、この課題の長期的な過食抑制効果はよくわかっていない。そこで、本研究では、過食抑制効果のある認知行動課題を用いた介入実験を行い、機能的MRIにより、この課題による過食抑制効果の神経学的メカニズムを明らかにし、課題実施１年後の過食抑制効果を追跡調査する。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the recent years, food related inhibitory control training has been employed to manage dietary choices and promote healthy eating. One successful method of dietary inhibitory control training is the food go/no-go task. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this method which contribute to its effectiveness have not been sufficiently studied. We thus designed a repeated measures functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment. All participants performed the online food go/no-go task or non-food go/no-go task for three weeks. For the food go/no-go task, high-calorie food images were set as "no-go", and low-calorie food images were set as "go." For the non-food go/no-go task, images of household items (e.g., scissors and pencils) were used. fMRI captured brain responses to "no-go" and "go" food items pre- and post-intervention. fMRI showed interactions across the food categories, groups, and time points in the appetite and satiety regions (ventral insula and pons).

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究より、Food Go/NoGo課題は、食欲の調整に関わる脳部位の活動を変化させることで、NoGo食品に対する自発的欲求を低減させ、健康的な食生活を促進させることが示唆された。このことから、Food Go/NoGo 課題は、新しく効果的な食事・減量療法の手段となりうる可能性が明らかになった。