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

NCT ID: NCT01913743

Last Updated: 2013-08-01

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Total Enrollment: 35 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-07-31
• Study Completion Date: 2014-03-31

Brief Summary

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 ('CHANGE'), a cognitive strategy emphasized in ACT ('ACCEPT'), and a cognitive strategy used in smoking cessation ('LATER') relative to a control condition ('NOW'), in their effectiveness in altering reward and inhibitory control responses to food cues among obese individuals.

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

fMRI; cognitive strategies; obesity; weight loss; mindsets

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_ONLY
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

MINDSETS

overweight/obese

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• MRI compatibility
• 25-55 yrs old
• 25-40 BMI
• weight stable
• right handed

Exclusion Criteria

• MRI incompatibility
• left handed

• Minimum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 55 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Obesity Society

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

The Miriam Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Kathryn E. Demos

Assistant Professor (Research)

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Kathryn E Demos, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Brown University Medical School

Locations

Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Facility Contacts

Kathryn E Demos, PhD

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

MINDSETS - TOS

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id