International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE)

IJCRSEE Editorial Team; Pavel Ermakov; Ekaterina Denisova; Daria Kirpu; Anastasia Gosteva; Nadejda Sylka

doi:10.23947/2334-8496-2025-13-1-15-31

Authors

Pavel Ermakov Department of Psychophysiology and Abnormal Psychology, Don state technical university, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation; Regional Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Education, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8395-2426
Ekaterina Denisova Don State Technical University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0240-8176
Daria Kirpu Department of Psychophysiology and Abnormal Psychology, Don state technical university, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0001-9708
Anastasia Gosteva Department of Psychophysiology and Abnormal Psychology, Don state technical university, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1348-9995
Nadejda Sylka Department of Psychophysiology and Abnormal Psychology, Don state technical university, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7324-8670

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23947/2334-8496-2025-13-1-15-31

Keywords:

eating behavior, rational consumption, cognitive control, evoked activity, ERP, Food Preference

Abstract

The article explores the characteristics of evoked brain activity during food preference decisions, emphasizing the role of psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms. The relevance of studying eating behavior as a multifaceted phenomenon is highlighted, with attention to the cognitive, emotional, and physiological factors that influence food preferences. The study involved 40 participants (70% female). Psychological testing included the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (Russian version by I.G. Malkina-Pykh, 2007), the Thought and Behavior Questionnaire (adapted by A.V. Anikina and T.A. Rebeko, 2009), the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (Russian version, 2018), and the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (translated version of Kliemann, 2016). Neurophysiological data were collected using EEG tasks based on a Go/NoGo paradigm. Mathematical and statistical methods included the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, and k-means cluster analysis. The study revealed significant differences in brain activity between groups with varying psychological characteristics and levels of nutritional knowledge. These findings align with previous research, confirming the link between cognitive control, impulsivity, and food preferences. Enhanced activation in the temporo-occipital regions was observed in participants with higher nutritional awareness. The role of psychological traits was found to outweigh knowledge levels in shaping dysfunctional eating patterns, highlighting the need for individualized approaches in prevention and treatment. The limitations, including the sample size and absence of participants with clinical eating disorders, are discussed alongside recommendations for future research.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anykina, A. V. & Rebeko, T. A. (2009) Adaptation of the Russian-language version of the questionnaire “Thoughts and patterns of behavior” for individuals suffering from obesity. Psychological Journal, 30(1), 106-118. (In Russ.)

Berner, L. A., Harlé, K. M., Simmons, A. N., Yu, A., Paulus, M. P., Bischoff-Grethe, A., Wierenga, C. E., Bailer, U. F., & Kaye, W. H. (2023). State-specific alterations in the neural computations underlying inhibitory control in women remitted from bulimia nervosa. Molecular psychiatry, 28(7), 3055–3062. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02063-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02063-6

Biehl, S. C., Keil, J., Naumann, E., & Svaldi, J. (2020). ERP and oscillatory differences in overweight/obese and normal-weight adolescents in response to food stimuli. Journal of eating disorders, 8, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00290-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00290-8

Chami, R., Cardi, V., Lautarescu, A., Mallorquí-Bagué, N., & McLoughlin, G. (2019). Neural responses to food stimuli among individuals with eating and weight disorders: a systematic review of event-related potentials. International Review of Psychiatry, 31(4), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2019.1622515 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2019.1622515

Cosme, D. & Lopez, R. (2020). Neural indicators of food cue reactivity, regulation, and valuation and their associations with body composition and daily eating behavior. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 18. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa155 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa155

Davidson, T., Jones, S., Roy, M., & Stevenson, R. (2019). The Cognitive Control of Eating and Body Weight: It’s More Than What You “Think”. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00062 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00062

Edwin Thanarajah, S. & Tittgemeyer, M. (2020). Food reward and gut-brain signalling. Neuroforum, 26(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1515/nf-2019-0020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nf-2019-0020

Frank, G. K. W., Shott, M. E., Stoddard, J., Swindle, S., & Pryor, T. L. (2021). Association of Brain Reward Response With Body Mass Index and Ventral Striatal-Hypothalamic Circuitry Among Young Women With Eating Disorders. JAMA psychiatry, 78(10), 1123-1133. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1580 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1580

Fürtjes, S., King, J., Goeke, C., Seidel, M., Goschke, T., Horstmann, A., & Ehrlich, S. (2020). Automatic and Controlled Processing: Implications for Eating Behavior. Nutrients, 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12041097 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12041097

Hamatani, S., Hirano, Y., Sugawara, A., Isobe, M., Kodama, N., Yoshihara, K., Moriguchi, Y., & Sekiguchi, A. et al. (2021). Eating Disorder Neuroimaging Initiative (EDNI): a multicentre prospective cohort study protocol for elucidating the neural effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy for eating disorders. BMJ open, 11(1), e042685. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042685 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042685

Kan, C., Herle, M., Treasure, J., Jones, A., Rijsdijk, F., & Llewellyn, C. (2020). Common etiological architecture underlying reward responsiveness, externally driven eating behaviors and BMI in childhood: findings from the Gemini twin cohort. International journal of obesity, (2005), 44, 2064-2074. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0605-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0605-8

Kliemann, N., Wardle, J., Johnson, F., & Croker, H. (2016). Reliability and validity of a revised version of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire. European journal of clinical nutrition, 70(10), 1174–1180. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.87 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.87

Leenaerts, N., Jongen, D., Ceccarini, J., Van Oudenhove, L., & Vrieze, E. (2022). The neurobiological reward system and binge eating: A critical systematic review of neuroimaging studies. The International journal of eating disorders, 55(11), 1421-1458. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23776 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23776

Liu, Y., Gao, X., Zhao, J., Zhang, L., & Chen, H. (2020). Neurocognitive Correlates of Food-Related Response Inhibition in Overweight/Obese Adults. Brain topography, 33(1), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-019-00730-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-019-00730-y

Lyu, Z., Zheng, P., Lu, S., & Qin, M. (2018). Impaired Conflict Monitoring to Food Cues in Women Who Binge Eat. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2585. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02585 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02585

Malkina-Pykh, I. G. (2007). Therapy of eating behavior. Eksmo. (In Russ.)

Manasse, S. M., Lampe, E. W., Gillikin, L., Payne-Reichert, A., Zhang, F., Juarascio, A. S., & Forman, E. M. (2020). The project REBOOT protocol: Evaluating a personalized inhibitory control training as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. The International journal of eating disorders, 53(6), 1007–1013. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23225 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23225

Oliva, R., Morys, F., Horstmann, A., Castiello, U., & Begliomini, C. (2019). The impulsive brain: Neural underpinnings of binge eating behavior in normal-weight adults. Appetite, 136, 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.12.043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.12.043

Pichikov A.A., Popov Y.V., & Iakovleva I.A. (2018). The interrelation of executive functions and suicidal tendencies in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. V.M. Bekhterev review of psychiatry and medical psychology, 4, 64-74. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31363/2313-7053-2018-4-64-74 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31363/2313-7053-2018-4-64-74

Rolls E. T. (2023). The orbitofrontal cortex, food reward, body weight and obesity. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 18(1), nsab044. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsab044 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsab044

Schienle, A., Schäfer, A., Hermann, A., & Vaitl, D. (2009). Binge-eating disorder: reward sensitivity and brain activation to images of food. Biological psychiatry, 65(8), 654–661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.09.028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.09.028

Schiff, S., Testa, G., Rusconi, M. L., Angeli, P., & Mapelli, D. (2021). Expectancy to Eat Modulates Cognitive Control and Attention Toward Irrelevant Food and Non-food Images in Healthy Starving Individuals. A Behavioral Study. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 569867. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569867 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569867

Schwab, D., Zorjan, S., & Schienle, A. (2021). Face the food: Food plating with facial patterns influences appetite and event-related brain potentials. Motivation and Emotion, 45(1), 95–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-020-09859-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-020-09859-x

Setsu, R., Asano, K., Numata, N., Tanaka, M., Ibuki, H., Yamamoto, T., Uragami, R., Matsumoto, J., Hirano, Y., Iyo, M., Shimizu, E., & Nakazato, M. (2018). A single-arm pilot study of guided self-help treatment based cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa in Japanese clinical settings. BMC research notes, 11(1), 257. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-018-3373-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-018-3373-y

Stunkard, A. J., & Messick, S. (1985). The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger. Journal of psychosomatic research, 29(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(85)90010-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(85)90010-8

Vrieze, E., & Leenaerts, N. (2023). Neuronal activity and reward processing in relation to binge eating. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36, 443-448. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000895 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000895

Wonderlich, J. A., Bershad, M., & Steinglass, J. E. (2021). Exploring Neural Mechanisms Related to Cognitive Control, Reward, and Affect in Eating Disorders: A Narrative Review of FMRI Studies. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 17, 2053–2062. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S282554 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S282554

Yang, Y., Shields, G., Wu, Q., Liu, Y., Chen, H., & Guo, C. (2019). Cognitive training on eating behaviour and weight loss: A meta-analysis and systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 20, 1628–1641. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12916 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12916