Learning Theory to Improve Obesity Treatments

描述（由申请人提供）：迫切需要改变目前预防和管理儿童肥胖的策略。如今的致肥环境使得人们不可能减少接触引发不适应饮食行为的信号。因此，迫切需要研究基本的行为机制，以减少这些线索引发暴饮暴食的效力。鉴于与巴甫洛夫条件反射相关的学习机制的经验进展，利用这一知识开展一项基于学习理论的针对肥胖症新疗法的研究计划的时机已经成熟。我们对8-12岁超重和肥胖儿童的初步数据表明，提示暴露治疗（CET-Food；基于巴甫洛夫灭绝）可以影响暴饮暴食。虽然很有希望，但提高CET-Food需要基础知识。本应用程序的目的是基于学习理论和其他翻译机制进行一系列形成性实验，以增强和改进我们目前的CET-Food，以减少儿童的暴饮暴食。我们将评估与暴饮暴食相关的相关结果，包括唾液分泌和心率变异性的心理生理测量，自我报告的渴望和测量暴饮暴食的实验室范例，以确定改善CET-Food的最有效因素。在形成性实验的基础上，我们将结合这些知识，并在概念验证干预中评估可接受性和可行性。最终，我们将进行试点比较

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is an imperative need to alter current strategies for the prevention and management of obesity in children. Today's obesiogenic environment makes it impossible to reduce exposure to cues that trigger maladaptive eating behaviors. Thus, there is an urgent need to study basic behavioral mechanisms that can reduce the potency of these cues to trigger overeating. Given empirical advances in learning mechanisms related to Pavlovian conditioning, the time is ripe to utilize this knowledge to launch a program of research targeting novel treatments for obesity based on learning theory. Our preliminary data with overweight and obese 8-12 year old children suggests that a cue exposure treatment (CET-Food; based on Pavlovian extinction) can impact overeating. Although promising, basic knowledge is needed to improve CET-Food. The objective of this application is to conduct a series of formative experiments based on learning theory and other translation mechanisms to enhance and improve our current CET-Food to reduce overeating in children. We will evaluate pertinent outcomes related to overeating, including psychophysiological measurements of salivation and heart rate variability, self-reported cravings and a laboratory paradigm measuring overeating to determine the most effective factors to improve CET-Food. Based on the formative experiments, we will combine this knowledge and evaluate the acceptability and feasibility in a proof of concept intervention. Ultimately, we will conduct a pilot trial comparing family-based treatment for childhood obesity with CET-Food to family-based treatment alone. The overall goal of this application is to develop an optimized intervention that will be efficacios in reducing overeating in children, which can be used in randomized controlled trials. This research has the potential to improve the knowledge base for the management and control of obesity, and to inform a new wave of interventions for obesity.