Incentive sensitization in binge behaviors: A mini review on electrophysiological evidence

Abstract

Highlights Alterations in attentional processing have been observed in various binge behaviors. We synthesize results from event-related potentials to incentive stimuli. P300 and LPP amplitudes are consistently enlarged across studies. The findings are in line with incentive sensitization.

Uncontrolled eating and sensation-seeking partially explain the prediction of future binge drinking from adolescent brain structure

“…In conclusion, our confound-control based method allows us to explore the effect of a wide range of personal characteristics in ML settings. Our findings specifically highlight the importance of considering behavior patterns which have previously been associated with ongoing maturation of the prefrontal cortex and its role in executive functioning and affect regulation (30,31,43), such as eating-related cognitive and behavioral patterns, in the association between binge drinking and adolescent brain structure. Future longitudinal cohort studies should expand on this finding by assessing measures of eating behavior in early adolescence and by addressing early developmental trauma and its potential effects on acute alcohol responses and excessive drinking (44,45).…”

“…This is supported by binge drinking and uncontrolled eating both being associated with sensation seeking at age 14 and 22 as well as with trait impulsivity at age 22 in the BL-none-onset exploration dataset (Table 4). A range of binge behaviors have been related to enhanced processing of and attentional bias towards incentive stimuli and to impaired inhibitory control (30,31), at least in particularly affected populations such as individuals with binge eating disorder (32). Similarly, emotional eating and cognitive restraint have previously been associated with binge drinking behavior (33)(34)(35)(36).…”

Binge behaviors: Assessment, determinants, and consequences

“…This Special Issue gathers 11 original research and review articles that address different types of binge behaviors: binge drinking ( Deniel et al, 2021 , Gierski et al, 2020 , Herman et al, 2020 , Mange et al, 2021 , Werle et al, 2021 ), binge eating ( Prunell-Castañé et al, 2021 , Werle et al, 2021 ), binge watching ( Cordeiro et al, 2021 , Ort et al, 2021 , Rubenking and Bracken, 2021 , Werle et al, 2021 ), and binge-porn consumption (i.e., hypersexuality and problematic pornography use; Castro-Calvo et al, 2021 , Koós et al, 2021 ). These articles primarily consist of empirical studies that build on self-report questionnaires, but a few rely on behavioral assessments, ecological approaches (i.e., sampling experiences), or literature reviews.…”

“…In a systematic review on cognitive processes related to problematic pornography use, Castro-Calvo et al (2021) identify a set of distorted mechanisms (i.e., attentional biases toward sexual stimuli, deficient inhibitory control, impaired performance in tasks assessing working memory, and decision-making difficulties) as sensitive indicators of binge-porn consumption. Finally, in their mini-review that examines incentive sensitization across binge behaviors and relies on event-related potentials, Werle et al (2021) emphasize preliminary results suggesting altered attentional processing of incentive stimuli across a variety of binge behaviors (i.e., binge forms of drinking, eating, gaming, and gambling), which might thus constitute a possible shared underlying mechanism of bingeing. As a recent phenomenon of interest in this Special Issue, Rubenking and Bracken (2021) report on the exponential growth rate of binge watching practices (together with the decrease in traditional appointment-style TV series viewing) over the last 5 years (i.e., 2015–2020), thus suggesting the normalization of binge watching behavior that appears to remain nonproblematic for most viewers.…”

Associations of binge gaming (5 or more consecutive hours played) with gaming disorder and mental health in young men

“…Even beyond the average alcohol use per week (volume; Rehm et al., 2010 ), binge drinking was found to be associated strongly with many negative alcohol-related outcomes ( Ham & Hope, 2003 ; Kuntsche, Kuntsche, Thrul, & Gmel, 2017 ), and it also an important dimension to be considered for the estimation of alcohol related morbidity and mortality, especially injuries ( Rehm et al., 2010 ). The concept of bingeing has also been used for other excessive behaviours that have been associated with negative consequences such as binge eating ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ), binge watching television series ( Flayelle et al., 2020 ), binge gambling ( Cowlishaw, Nespoli, Jebadurai, Smith, & Bowden-Jones, 2018 ; Griffiths, 2006 ; Nower & Blaszczynski, 2003 ; Werle, Schroeder, Wolz, & Svaldi, 2021 ), binge internet use ( Flayelle et al., 2020 ; Gatineau, 2021 ) and BG ( Mahapatra, Sharma, Amudhan, & Anand, 2021 ). Binge episodes are considered important behavioral markers, in order to avoid the development of more severe long-term consequences, such as addiction ( Cowlishaw et al., 2018 ; Griffiths, 2006 ).…”