Interactions between metabolic, cognitive and reward processes in appetite

最近的研究帮助我们了解了导致我们更喜欢某些食物的过程以及影响我们吃多少的因素。我们知道，通过经验，我们了解到一些食物是非常有益的吃，这种学习影响我们的食物选择。我们还知道，与身体产生的食物摄入有关的信号（代谢信号）调节大脑中的过程，这些过程对于确定需要多少食物很重要。因为这个原因，我们刚吃过的食物就不那么吸引人了。我们的食物选择也受到注意力和记忆力等认知过程的影响，例如，当我们思考食物时，我们可能会注意环境中的食物，并且可能更容易吃。虽然我们知道代谢信号和认知过程直接影响食物奖励，但我们对这些因素如何相互作用影响饮食知之甚少。我们研究团队的新证据表明，代谢信号可能通过调节高级认知功能间接影响食物奖励。这项研究计划的目的是通过检查特定代谢信号对认知过程和食物奖励的影响来研究这一想法。这是研究食物选择的一种新方法，其结果将对理论和实践都有影响。潜在的实际好处将包括开发更有效的干预措施以帮助人们控制食物摄入量的可能性。

Recent research has helped us understand the processes that lead us to prefer certain foods over others and the factors that influence how much we eat. We know that through experience we learn that some foods are very rewarding to eat and this learning influences our food choices. We also know that signals relating to the ingestion of food arising from the body (metabolic signals) modulate processes in the brain that are important for determining how much a food is desired. Food is less attractive when we have just eaten for this reason. Our food choices are also influenced by cognitive processes such as attention and memory, for example, when thinking about food we are likely to pay attention to food in the environment and may be more likely to eat. Although we know that metabolic signals and cognitive processes directly influence food reward we know very little about how these factors interact to affect eating. New evidence from our research team suggests that metabolic signals may affect food reward indirectly via modulation of higher cognitive functions. The aim of this research programme is to investigate this idea by examining the effects of specific metabolic signals on cognitive processes and food reward. This is a new approach to the study of food choice and the results will have implications for both theory and practice. Potential practical benefits will include the possibility of developing more effective interventions to help people control their food intake.