The neural substrates of the food Go/NoGo task

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• 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
• Keywords: 機能的MRI / 摂食制御 / Food Go/NoGo課題

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).

Free Research Field

摂食制御

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。