Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex modulates the desire for specific foods

Abstract

We aimed to assess whether modulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC) with noninvasive brain stimulation, namely transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), modifies food craving in healthy subjects. We performed a randomized sham-controlled cross-over study in which 23 subjects received sham and active tDCS (anode left/cathode right and anode right/ cathode left) of the DLPFC. Subjects were exposed to food and also watched a movie of food associated with strong craving. Desire for food consumption was evaluated by visual analogue scales (VAS) and food consumption before and after treatment. In addition we measured visual attention to food using an eye tracking system. Craving for viewed foods as indexed by VAS was reduced by anode right/cathode left tDCS. After sham stimulation, exposure to real food or foodrelated movie increased craving; whereas after anode left/cathode right tDCS, the food-related stimuli did not increase craving levels, as revealed by the VAS scale. Moreover, compared with sham stimulation, subjects fixated food-related pictures less frequently after anode right/cathode left tDCS and consumed less food after both active stimulation conditions. These changes were not related to mood changes after any type of tDCS treatment. The effects of tDCS on food craving might be related to a modulation of neural circuits associated with reward and decisionmaking.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of the Anterior Prefrontal Cortex (aPFC) Modulates Reinforcement Learning and Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: a Double-Blind Crossover Study

“…Unfortunately, the extension of the aPFC and its subdivision in medial OFC and lateral OFC requires the development of more precise experimental designs for dissociating the functional role of the different sub-regions in reinforcement learning and decision-making. Finally, the present work supports the use of tDCS in the investigation of mechanisms of decision-making and reinforcement learning within the aPFC in healthy participants, as well as in clinical populations with addiction (e.g., pathological gambling, smoke, alcohol, cocaine, food misuse- Boggio et al 2008;Fregni et al 2008;Fecteau et al 2010;Levasseur-Moreau and Fecteau 2012) and in other psychopathological conditions (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder -Volpato et al 2013;Loo et al 2012;Ferrucci et al 2013;Marin et al 2014), known to affect decision-making and reinforcement learning.…”

Neuroscience: Brain buzz

“…The results may be generalizable to addictions, in which people lack "inhibitory control", says Boggio. In 2008, he and Fregni published t hre e studies [8][9][10] showing that stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex blunted cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and sweets when people later watched videos in which these were being consumed. They hope, eventually, to test the same technique in a clinical trial for smoking cessation.…”

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: Methodology and Applications

“…On the contrary, much fewer tDCS studies found significant results with cathodal stimulation. These include improved naming in stroke patients with chronic nonfluent aphasia (Monti et al, 2008), improved motor function in patients with stroke (Boggio, Nunes, et al, 2007;Fregni, Boggio, Mansur, et al, 2005), diminished pain perception in healthy volunteers (Antal, Brepohl, et al, 2008), decreased craving for alcohol (Boggio, Rigonatti, et al, 2008) and foods (Fregni, Orsati, et al, 2008), suppressed motor excitability in control subjects, but no effects in patients with focal dystonia (Lang, Nitsche, Paulus, Rothwell, & Lemon, 2004;Nitsche & Paulus, 2000;Quartarone et al, 2005).…”

“…Most tDCS studies found significant results in either symptom improvement in patient samples, or improved cognitive or motor performance in healthy volunteers via anodal stimulation, which has excitatory effects on the underlying cortex. These include improvement of depression symptoms (Boggio, Rigonatti, et al, 2008;Costain et al, 1964;Rigonatti et al, 2008), decreased craving for smoking (Fregni, Liguori, et al, 2008), alcohol (Boggio, Rigonatti, et al, 2008), and foods (Fregni, Orsati, et al, 2008), FIGURE 2. Standard spherical head model illustration of current density spread.…”