Cecil Gibb Seminar Series: Neural mechanisms of food choice in obesity

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Abstract:

Obesity has been traditionally viewed as a problem of energy regulation, and the research on its brain mechanisms has focused on the hypothalamus. However, increases in food availability and attractiveness, as well as changes in lifestyle, have made evident that extra-hypothalamic brain systems including frontostriatal circuits involved in reward valuation and decision-making are needed to regulate dietary intake and weight. I will present evidence from fMRI activation and connectivity studies showing that striatal, insula and prefrontal cortical systems involved in reward processing, interoception (perception of bodily changes) and food choices are linked to high-calorie food intake and obesity, and can hinder attempts to control weight gain. I will then show how we are using cognitive training tools, co-opted from our addiction work, to help people "push away" alcohol and food related appetitive responses, and make healthier choices.

Bio:

Antonio Verdejo-Garcia is a Professor (Research) and NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health. Professor Verdejo-Garcia’s research seeks to unravel the neural and thinking mechanisms that underpin addiction, obesity, and compulsive eating. His research has been published in leading scientific journals including JAMA Psychiatry, Nature Human Behaviour and Nature Reviews Disease Primers, with over 290 peer-reviewed publications and $20 million in grant funding. Professor Verdejo-Garcia leads the Addiction and Impulsivity Research (AIR) group within the Turner Institute. His group merges discovery science and clinical translation. His program of research aims to generate and rapidly apply neuroscience discoveries into better help-seeking opportunities and therapeutic interventions for people living with substance use and behavioural addictive disorders, people with eating disorders and those living in larger bodies.