The Effects of Mindsets on the Brain's Response to Food Cues

Previous studies have shown that obese individuals exhibit greater reward-related brain
activity in response to food cues than lean individuals and our group has shown that
successful weight loss maintainers who were previously obese and now maintain a healthy
weight have increased control-related activity when viewing food cues. These findings
suggest key roles for both reward-related brain areas and inhibitory control regions in
eating behavior. However, no studies to date have examined (a) whether the response to food
cues (i.e., cue-reactivity) can be changed in obese individuals, (b) which strategies are
most effective at altering brain response to food cues, or (c) the neural mechanisms that
support such change.

Given the omnipresent environmental cues to eat and the association between heightened
reward-responsivity and obesity, it is critical to investigate ways to potentially alter
food cue-reactivity in the obese. The most widely employed approach for behavioral weight
loss treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which incorporates strategies to
control and change cognitions (e.g., avoid desire to eat tempting foods by focusing on
something else). This approach is sometimes described as "change- focused" because modifying
negative thoughts is assumed to thereby change associated maladaptive emotions and
behaviors. Alternatively, emerging evidence suggests Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT), which teaches participants to recognize and accept their cravings as feelings that
need not be acted upon, may also be effective in treating obesity. A third strategy often
employed in smoking cessation and substance abuse treatment is to focus on the long-term
consequences of behaviors, however this form of treatment is not typically used in
behavioral weight loss therapy. Thus although each approach is potentially effective, these
treatment approaches differ greatly in the cognitive strategies they employ.

The primary aim of the proposed research is to compare a cognitive strategy used in CBT
(ʻCHANGEʼ), a cognitive strategy emphasized in ACT (ʻACCEPTʼ), and a cognitive strategy used
in smoking cessation (ʻLATERʼ) relative to a control condition (ʻNOWʼ), in their
effectiveness in altering reward and inhibitory control responses to food cues among obese
individuals.