Brain Stimulation to Modulate Food Intake and Eating Behavior

Abstract

Purpose of review: Appetitive behaviors are mediated through homeostatic and reward signaling of brain circuits. There has been increasing interest in the use of neuromodulation techniques aimed at targeting brain regions such as the lateral prefrontal and subcortical regions associated with dysregulation of eating behaviors.

Recent findings: Invasive brain stimulation techniques have demonstrated promising results in treating severe and enduring anorexia nervosa and morbid obesity. In addition, non-invasive techniques have been shown to successfully reduce food craving, hunger ratings, and calorie intake as well as binge/purge symptoms in eating disorders. Brain stimulation offers promising results for treating symptoms associated with eating disorders and modifying appetitive behaviors including craving and caloric consumption. Future research should focus on identifying optimal frequency and duration of stimulation and employ longitudinal studies to assess long-term effectiveness on clinical outcomes such as eating disorder symptomatology, weight loss, and sustained improvements in eating behaviors over time.

Keywords: Eating disorders; Neuromodulation; Obesity; Prefrontal cortex; dlPFC; tDCS.