Reversal of Conditioned Food Aversion Using a Cognitive Intervention : A Sham-Controlled, Randomized, Parallel Study
Nieto Ruiz, Adoración (Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron)
Livovsky, Dan M. (Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron)
Azpiroz Vidaur, Fernando (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Background: Aversive conditioning weakens the gratifying value of a comfort meal. The aim was to determine the effect of a cognitive intervention to reverse aversive conditioning and restore hedonic postprandial response. Methods: This was a randomized, sham-controlled, single-blind, parallel study that was conducted on 12 healthy women (n = 6 in each group). The reward value of a comfort meal was measured on different days: at initial exposure, after aversive conditioning (administration of the same meal with a masked fat overload on the previous day) and after a cognitive intervention (disclosing the aversive conditioning paradigm in the test group vs. no explanation in the control group). The primary outcome, digestive wellbeing, was determined using graded scales at regular intervals before and after ingestion. Results: At initial exposure, the comfort meal produced a rewarding experience that was impaired using aversive conditioning; upon re-exposure to the original meal, the cognitive intervention increased meal wanting and liking; improved digestive wellbeing and mood; tended to reduce postprandial satiety, bloating/fullness; and abolished discomfort/pain, thereby restoring the hedonic value of the comfort meal. By contrast, sham intervention had no effects, and the postprandial sensations remained like the responses to the offending meal. Conclusion: In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate that in healthy women, a mild, short-term acquired aversion to a comfort meal can be reversed using a cognitive intervention.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-122295OB-I00
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Pavlovian conditioning ; Aversive conditioning ; Cognitive intervention ; Eating behaviour ; Digestive sensations ; Postprandial symptoms ; Digestive wellbeing ; Food valence
Published in:	Nutrients, Vol. 15 (november 2023) , ISSN 2072-6643

DOI: 10.3390/nu15234962
PMID: 38068820

13 p, 1.2 MB

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