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