Abstract
A key challenge in studying reward processing in humans is to go beyond subjective self-report measures and quantify different aspects of reward such as hedonics, motivation, and goal value in more objective ways. This is particularly relevant for the understanding of overeating and obesity as well as their potential treatments. In this paper are described a set of measures of food-related motivation using handgrip force as a motivational measure. These methods can be used to examine changes in food related motivation with metabolic (satiety) and pharmacological manipulations and can be used to evaluate interventions targeted at overeating and obesity. However to understand food-related decision making in the complex food environment it is essential to be able to ascertain the reward goal values that guide the decisions and behavioral choices that people make. These values are hidden but it is possible to ascertain them more objectively using metrics such as the willingness to pay and a method for this is described. Both these sets of methods provide quantitative measures of motivation and goal value that can be compared within and between individuals.
Highlights
The study of food reward processing in humans has received a significant impetus from the rising concerns about the obesity epidemic
Note: The force exerted by the participant during the response period is measured as a percentage of the difference between the baseline and the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) as follows: If the effort is negative it is set to the minimum force of zero and if it is greater than the MVC measured during calibration it is set to the maximum effort of 100 units
Representative results from the different applications of each of the methods described above are shown here: Grip force as a measure of motivation
Summary
The study of food reward processing in humans has received a significant impetus from the rising concerns about the obesity epidemic. As the route to obesity in most obese individuals is through increased energy intake over and above metabolic need[1], it is important to understand the drivers and mechanisms of overconsumption. Prevailing models consider this overconsumption to be a form of nonhomeostatic or ‘hedonic' eating, i.e. consumption that is driven not by homeostatic needs but by the rewarding aspects of the food(s) consumed[2]. This is a complex phenomenon and the homeostatic and hedonic/reward systems are overlapping and interactive. It is important to be able characterize and measure the different aspects of food reward
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