Memory suppression devalues food reward and can predict long-term changes in emotional eating

Abstract

Memory retrieval suppression is a cognitive process that involves intentional suppression of certain memories coming to consciousness. It not only disrupts episodic memories but also devaluates the affective response associated with those memories. Thus, memory suppression training, akin to other inhibitory control trainings, could potentially serve as a promising tool to devaluate reward response to appetizing food cues. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been few studies directly investigating devaluation effects of memory suppression training on reward response to food-related targets, and these potential benefits among emotional eaters remains unclear. Thus, the current study used food-specific Think/No-Think task to investigate the devaluation effects of memory suppression on food-related thoughts. The outcome variables, namely food reward response and food choice, were assessed using the Food Rating and Choice task. Thirty-nine young female participants were enrolled, with 20 displaying low emotional eating tendencies and 19 exhibiting high tendencies. Direct comparisons between these two groups were conducted. After one-year follow-up, thirty-six of the original participants returned to the laboratory and finished measures of emotional eating again. As hypothesized, suppressing the retrieval of food-related targets not only disrupts the corresponding memories, but also reduces the hedonic basis in food decision-making. Notably, these devaluation effects were only observed among those low in emotional eating tendencies. Additionally, successful memory suppression could predict changes in emotional eating tendencies at one-year follow-up. These findings offered valuable insights into the potential modulation of food choices and emotional eating over time.