Brain responses and connectivity to visual meal compositions: An EEG investigation into food liking

Abstract

Understanding food liking, which shapes individual preferences for certain foods, is important for enhancing consumer satisfaction, encouraging healthier eating habits, and developing effective nutritional interventions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of food liking. We used electroencephalography (EEG) as a neuroscientific approach and visual food stimuli comprising various compositions of Korean meals. Our focus was to examine changes in brain responses and functional connectivity resulting from variations in visual meal compositions. The behavioral results showed that participants exhibited increased liking for meals with increased compositions. EEG source analysis demonstrated increased activity in the anterior insula, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and decreased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) with increased meal liking. Furthermore, functional connectivity analysis revealed reduced connectivity between the dlPFC and both the mOFC and the anterior insula with increased meal liking. Notably, lower dlPFC-mOFC connectivity was associated with a greater preference for visual meal stimuli. Together, these results suggest that a decrease in neural communication between the brain regions responsible for subjective reward value processing and cognitive control, indicating a shift in attention towards the rewarding aspects of food, plays a significant role in food-liking decisions. Our study also emphasizes the integral role of various brain regions in determining food preference, thereby providing evidence for further neuroscientific investigations into dietary decision-making processes.