Social support influences effective neural connections during food cue processing and overeating: A bottom-up pathway.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social support helps prevent the onset and progression of overeating. However, few studies have explored the neural mechanisms underlying this pathway. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) analysis to elucidate the general neural mechanisms and effective neural pathways linking social support to alterations in food cue processing and overeating.

Methods

This study included 58 healthy, premenopausal female participants (mean age, 20.92 years), divided into social support (SS) and non-social support (NSS) groups. Participants underwent fMRI scans while performing the Food Incentive Delay (FID) task. We investigated group differences in brain activation and effective connections, as well as correlations with f

SUBMITTER: Xiao M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11783060 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan-Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature