Food Perception in Adults: Neuroimaging Findings

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the neuroimaging studies of food perception in adults. A brief introduction to EEG/ERP, PET, and fMRI methods is provided, followed by a review of current literature using these techniques in typical healthy participants to investigate brain structures and processes involved in visual, olfactory, and tactile perception of food-related stimuli. The role of higher-order cognitive processes (e.g., attention, self-control) is also examined. A separate section examines brain mechanisms of food perception in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder associated with insatiable appetite, chronic overeating, and obesity. Evidence across studies reveals that food stimuli are processed mainly by the same brain structures as other attention-grabbing nonfood stimuli, but the specific patterns of brain activity differ across satiated versus hungry states. Furthermore, perception of food stimuli can be affected by self-imposed eating restrictions and beliefs, even at the early, preattentive stages of information processing. Finally, examination of brain responses to food stimuli in a clinical group (Prader-Willi syndrome) reveals that differences in behavioral phenotypes are associated with altered brain functioning during perceptual categorization and affective evaluation of food stimuli, suggesting that brain-based measures can yield valuable information for improved understanding of typical and atypical eating behaviors.