{"title":"Social support influences effective neural connections during food cue processing and overeating: A bottom-up pathway","authors":"Mingyue Xiao , Yijun Luo , Hong Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.ijchp.2025.100545","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>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.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>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 food consumption.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>When exposed to food cues, the SS group showed increased activation in the Executive Control Network (ECN), Salience Network, and Reward Network, specifically in response to high-calorie foods in the ECN. DCM analysis demonstrated enhanced excitatory effects in the SS group, including pathways from the right caudate to the right insula, right insula to right DLPFC, and left putamen to left VMPFC, under high-calorie conditions. The effective connectivity between the caudate and insula was negatively correlated with food choices.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Social support modulates a bottom-up neural pathway connecting intrinsic networks related to reward sensitivity, emotional salience, and inhibitory control, which helps suppress excessive cravings and intake of high-calorie foods. This study provides the first neural evidence for a shared neural basis between social reward and food reward.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47673,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"Article 100545"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11783060/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260025000031","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
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 food consumption.
Results
When exposed to food cues, the SS group showed increased activation in the Executive Control Network (ECN), Salience Network, and Reward Network, specifically in response to high-calorie foods in the ECN. DCM analysis demonstrated enhanced excitatory effects in the SS group, including pathways from the right caudate to the right insula, right insula to right DLPFC, and left putamen to left VMPFC, under high-calorie conditions. The effective connectivity between the caudate and insula was negatively correlated with food choices.
Conclusion
Social support modulates a bottom-up neural pathway connecting intrinsic networks related to reward sensitivity, emotional salience, and inhibitory control, which helps suppress excessive cravings and intake of high-calorie foods. This study provides the first neural evidence for a shared neural basis between social reward and food reward.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.