Available research suggests that noninvasive stimulation of a specific brain area can reduce food cravings\u2014particularly for high-calorie, \u201cappetitive\u201d foods, according to a review in the Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.<\/b><\/p>\n
However, there\u2019s not yet consistent evidence to show that brain stimulation can reduce actual food consumption, according to the research review by Peter A. Hall, PhD, of University of Waterloo, Ont., Canada, and colleagues.<\/p>\n
Brain Stimulation May Curb Your Cravings\u2014Especially for Carbs<\/b>
\nThe researchers analyzed previous studies evaluating the effects of noninvasive brain stimulation on food cravings and food consumption. Stimulation studies have targeted a brain area called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which appears to play a role in the \u201cconscious regulation of food craving and consumption of calorie-dense foods.\u201d<\/p>\n
The review identified eleven studies evaluating the effects of DLPFC stimulation on food cravings and\/or consumption. The studies included human volunteers in laboratory settings\u2014most often women who reported \u201cstrong and frequent\u201d cravings for high-calorie snack foods. All studies used an appropriate sham (inactive) stimulation procedure.<\/p>\n
Of eight studies providing data on food cravings, all but one showed a significant effect of brain stimulation. Meta-analysis of pooled data from these studies suggested a \u201cmoderate-sized effect\u201d of DLPFC stimulation on food cravings\u2014roughly half a point on a four-point self-rated scale.<\/p>\n
Just one of the two types of stimulation studied had a significant effect on food cravings\u2014a technique called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The other technique evaluated, transcranial direct current stimulation, did not significantly affect cravings.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the results of nine studies providing data on actual food consumption were inconsistent. The pooled data analysis suggested no significant effect of brain stimulation.<\/p>\n
Another two studies evaluated the effects of treatment using repeated sessions of DLPFC stimulation. One study found a significant reduction in total food intake after daily stimulation, while the other did not. However, there was some evidence that stimulation specifically reduced consumption of carbohydrates\u2014for example, cookies, cakes, and soda.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s important, because calorie-dense snack foods are often implicated in the development of obesity. One reason it\u2019s so difficult to lose weight by dieting is that the person has to overcome the \u201cnatural preferences\u201d for these types of appetitive foods. It\u2019s not entirely clear how DLPFC works to reduce food cravings, but evidence suggests possible effects on the \u201creward center\u201d of the brain and\/or enhanced cognitive control over cravings.<\/p>\n
The available data support the conclusion that DLPFC stimulation reduces food cravings, Dr. Hall and coauthors believe. \u201cThese effects seem to be strongest for rTMS neuromodulation methods and are moderate in magnitude,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n
While so far there\u2019s \u201cno reliable effect\u201d of brain stimulation in reducing overall food consumption, studies do suggest a possible effect on intake of carbohydrates. Dr. Hall and colleagues make suggestions for future research, clarifying the potential benefits of repeated sessions of rTMS and focusing on actual food consumption\u2014especially calorie-dense snack foods.<\/p>\n
Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Available research suggests that noninvasive stimulation of a specific brain area can reduce food cravings\u2014particularly for high-calorie, \u201cappetitive\u201d foods, according to a review in the Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. However, there\u2019s not yet consistent evidence to show that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}