ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理科学进展 ›› 2023, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (10): 1775-1784.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2023.01775

• 研究构想 •    下一篇

超重/肥胖个体工作记忆的神经机制及干预

刘永1,2(), 陈红1,2,3   

  1. 1西南大学心理学部, 重庆 400715
    2西南大学认知与人格教育部重点实验室, 重庆 400715
    3西南大学心理学与社会发展研究中心, 重庆 400715
  • 收稿日期:2023-03-06 出版日期:2023-10-15 发布日期:2023-07-25
  • 通讯作者: 刘永, E-mail: liuy0768@swu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金青年项目(32200849)

Neural mechanism of food-related working memory in individuals with overweight/obesity and related intervention

LIU Yong1,2(), CHEN Hong1,2,3   

  1. 1School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
    2Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
    3Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
  • Received:2023-03-06 Online:2023-10-15 Published:2023-07-25

摘要:

全球超重/肥胖人群增长迅猛, 1997年世界卫生组织将肥胖认定为全球性流行病。目前, 中国成年人的超重/肥胖发生率已超过50%, 不健康的饮食行为占肥胖成因的70%。本项目拟从食物特异工作记忆切入, 探明超重/肥胖个体食物特异工作记忆的神经机制, 以及与一般工作记忆神经机制的差异。再采用前瞻性的研究设计, 考察食物特异工作记忆与超重/肥胖发展的渐变关系, 探索食物特异工作记忆及其神经活动对个体饮食管理和体质变化的预测作用。最后, 采用食物特异抑制控制训练, 提升超重/肥胖个体的食物特异工作记忆能力, 塑造健康饮食行为。本项目旨在探索塑造健康饮食行为的安全及有效的方法, 为超重/肥胖的预防和干预提供理论和实践建议, 具有现实性、前沿性和前瞻性。

关键词: 工作记忆, 认知控制, 超重/肥胖, 认知神经机制, 干预

Abstract:

In 1997, the World Health Organization recognized obesity as a global epidemic. In China, the prevalence of overweight/obesity among adults has surpassed 50%, with unhealthy dietary behaviors accounting for 70% of the causes. Working memory has been shown to play a protective role in maintaining long-term healthy dietary goals by diverting attention from tempting stimuli. Therefore, this research project aims to investigate the role of food-specific working memory in individuals with overweight/obesity through cross-sectional, prospective, and intervention studies. The research will explore temporal dynamics, neural oscillations, brain spatial activation, and real-life implications. The project's objectives are as follows: (1) to explore the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in food-specific working memory updating in overweight/obese individuals; (2) to examine the predictive function of food-specific working memory updating and related neural activity on an individual’s dietary management and weight changes; (3) to investigate the effectiveness of food-specific inhibitory control training in enhancing food-specific working memory updating and promoting healthy dietary habits in individuals with overweight/obesity.

Study 1 will employ electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to investigate the electrophysiological activity underlying working memory updating in overweight/obese individuals. This study will use a 2-back task with general and food-specific stimuli. The study will examine the temporal characteristics of brain activity associated with general and food-specific working memory updating in overweight/obese individuals and investigate whether there are similar behavioral and neural patterns between general and food-specific working memory updating. It is hypothesized that overweight/obese individuals will exhibit significantly different performance in the 2-back task compared to normal-weight individuals, and the neural correlates may involve changes in N2 amplitude, P3 amplitude, theta and alpha power, among others. Additionally, due to the rewarding effects of food, general and food-specific working memory updating in overweight/obese individuals may exhibit different neural patterns.

Study 2 will focus on the relationship between food-specific working memory updating and related brain activity, and the development of overweight/obesity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This study will consist of two experiments—a cross-sectional study design and a prospective study design. The study will explore the predictive role of food-specific working memory updating and related brain activity on dietary management and changes in body weight in the overweight/obesity population. The study will first utilize food-specific 1-back tasks with inhibitory control and then collect data through follow-up surveys and body composition measurements. It is hypothesized that overweight/obese individuals will display poorer performance in the working memory task and exhibit less brain activation in control-related brain regions, as well as greater activation in reward-related brain regions, compared to normal-weight individuals during the task.

Study 3 aims to explore effective interventions for overweight/obesity by employing food inhibition control training combined with fMRI techniques. The study will include a general and a food-specific inhibition control training delivered through general or food-specific go/no-go tests. Both trainings will be investigated, with the hypothesis that both types of training can improve food-specific working memory updating performance, and both trainings can enhance the activity in control-related brain regions involved in food-specific working memory in overweight/obese individuals, but food-specific training will yield better results.

In summary, this project delves into the behavioral and neural mechanisms of working memory in individuals with overweight/obesity. By investigating the cognitive processing, spatial activation patterns, and the interplay between food-specific working memory and overweight/obesity, the research aims to provide reliable evidence and a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms in this population. The project will also examine the interdependent relationship between food-specific working memory and related brain activity, and the development of overweight/obesity, with the goal of obtaining a wholistic view of the underpinnings between working memory updating and overweight/obesity and providing evidence for the establishment of a more complete neurocognitive model. Furthermore, the project will employ inhibition control training as an intervention for overweight/obesity, laying a practical foundation for effective solutions to obesity-related issues and facilitate the innovative translation of basic research findings.

Key words: working memory, cognitive control, overweight/obesity, cognitive neural mechanism, intervention

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