Non-preferred Food Research Articles

Oxytocin effects on socially transmitted food preferences are moderated by familiarity between rats.

In the socially transmitted food preference (STFP) paradigm, rats change their preference for food rewards after socially interacting with a conspecific who has been fed with the originally non-preferred food. Here, we asked if oxytocin (OXT), a neuropeptide known for its role in social affiliation and social behavior, plays a role in STFP. Since OXT's influences on social behavior can be familiarity-dependent, we further asked if OXT effects on STFP are moderated by the familiarity between rats. Does OXT modulate rats' socially transmitted food choices in a familiarity-dependent way. We systemically injected either vehicle, low-dose (0.25mg/kg) of OXT, or large-dose (1.0mg/kg) of OXT before social interaction with either a familiar cagemate (in-group) or an unfamiliar conspecific from a different cage (out-group). We found an intergroup bias in STFP: vehicle-treated rats showed larger socially transmitted changes in food preference in the out-group than the in-group condition. OXT modulated STFP in a familiarity-dependent way: OXT prevented the increase in the consumption of the non-preferred food in the out-group, and decreased the consumption of the preferred food in the in-group. These effects were dose-dependent and observed under acute OXT action, but also on the subsequent day when acute OXT effects dissipated, suggesting long-lasting social learning effects of OXT. Additional analyses suggest that the familiarity and dose-dependent effects of OXT on STFP cannot be attributed to OXT's anorexic actions or differences in the duration of the social interactions. OXT modulates STFP in a familiarity-dependent way.

Gut fungi of black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis) respond to dietary changes during wintering

BackgroundMigratory birds exhibit heterogeneity in foraging strategies during wintering to cope with environmental and migratory pressures, and gut bacteria respond to changes in host diet. However, less is known about the dynamics of diet and gut fungi during the wintering period in black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis).ResultsIn this work, we performed amplicon sequencing of the trnL-P6 loop and ITS1 regions to characterize the dietary composition and gut fungal composition of black-necked cranes during wintering. Results indicated that during the wintering period, the plant-based diet of black-necked cranes mainly consisted of families Poaceae, Solanaceae, and Polygonaceae. Among them, the abundance of Solanaceae, Polygonaceae, Fabaceae, and Caryophyllaceae was significantly higher in the late wintering period, which also led to a more even consumption of various food types by black-necked cranes during this period. The diversity of gut fungal communities and the abundance of core fungi were more conserved during the wintering period, primarily dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. LEfSe analysis (P < 0.05, LDA > 2) found that Pyxidiophora, Pseudopeziza, Sporormiella, Geotrichum, and Papiliotrema were significantly enriched in early winter, Ramularia and Dendryphion were significantly enriched in mid-winter, Barnettozyma was significantly abundant in late winter, and Pleuroascus was significantly abundant in late winter. Finally, mantel test revealed a significant correlation between winter diet and gut fungal.ConclusionsThis study revealed the dynamic changes in the food composition and gut fungal community of black-necked cranes during wintering in Dashanbao. In the late wintering period, their response to environmental and migratory pressures was to broaden their diet, increase the intake of non-preferred foods, and promote a more balanced consumption ratio of various foods. Balanced food composition played an important role in stabilizing the structure of the gut fungal community. While gut fungal effectively enhanced the host’s food utilization rate, they may also faced potential risks of introducing pathogenic fungi. Additionally, we recongnized the limitations of fecal testing in studying the composition of animal gut fungal, as it cannot effectively distinguished between fungal taxa from food or soil inadvertently ingested and intestines. Future research on functions such as cultivation and metagenomics may further elucidate the role of fungi in the gut ecosystem.

Empirical verification of feeding selectivity of larval and juvenile pelagic fishes using in-situ zooplankton assemblages

Most studies on the feeding ecology of larvae and juveniles of commercially important pelagic fishes have used field-based approaches. However, due to possible biases related to net sampling, it is uncertain whether the results obtained from those studies truly represent the situation of live fish in the sea. Here we investigated the feeding ecology of pelagic fishes through a laboratory experiment minimizing the biases inherent in field net sampling. In the experiment, hatchery-reared juvenile chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and larval/juvenile Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) were fed with wild-caught zooplankton assemblages collected from around Hakatajima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The relationships between fish size and prey number in the gut, and the selectivity on each prey organism were determined. As a result, in both species, prey number and size increased with body size, and the fish showed strong selectivity for crustaceans including copepodites and adults of copepods. Our data has also clearly indicated that both species can selectively prey on preferred foods that are rare while avoiding non-preferred foods that are abundant. These results, which substantially accord with reports from previous field studies, will not only help field scientists make a convincing interpretation of their data, but also open the possibility of further laboratory studies on detailed mechanisms of the feeding selectivity of larval/juvenile pelagic fishes.

Responsive Feeding Practices to Promote Healthy Diets: A Mixed Method Study among Low-Income Caregivers with Toddlers.

Responsive feeding (RF), the reciprocal feeding approach between caregiver and child that promotes child health, is understudied among low-income caregivers. This mixed methods study with low-income caregivers of 12-to-36-month-olds aimed to (1) assess variability in RF and associations with children's dietary intake, and (2) explore caregivers' perceptions of RF. Caregivers (n = 134) completed an online survey with RF questions (n = 25), grouped into environmental (meal environment, caregiver modeling, caregiver beliefs) and child (self-regulation, hunger/satiety cues, food for reward, food acceptance) influences scores. Children's recent food group consumption was loaded onto healthy and less healthy intake scores. In an adjusted multiple linear regression analysis, greater RF scores for environmental and child influences were associated with greater healthy intake scores (p's < 0.01). Greater scores for environmental influences were also associated with lower scores for unhealthy intake (p < 0.01). From focus groups with a separate sample of caregivers (n = 24), thematic analysis uncovered that two themes aligned (trust in child cues, positive strategies to encourage children to eat non-preferred foods) and two misaligned (lack of trust in child cues, use of force/bribery) with RF. Complementary integration of quantitative and qualitative findings can inform future interventions with low-income caregivers, encouraging trust in young children's hunger/satiety cues and positive strategies for food acceptance to improve diet quality.

Cognitive flexibility in urban yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata

Cognitive flexibility enables animals to alter their behaviour and respond appropriately to environmental changes. Such flexibility is important in urban settings where environmental changes occur rapidly and continually. We studied whether free-living, urban-dwelling yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata, in South Africa, are cognitively flexible in reversal learning and attention task experiments (n = 10). Reversal learning was conducted using two puzzle boxes that were distinct visually and spatially, each containing a preferred or non-preferred food type. Once mongooses learned which box contained the preferred food type, the food types were reversed. The mongooses successfully unlearned their previously learned response in favour of learning a new response, possibly through a win-stay, lose-shift strategy. Attention task experiments were conducted using one puzzle box surrounded by zero, one, two or three objects, introducing various levels of distraction while solving the task. The mongooses were distracted by two and three distractions but were able to solve the task despite the distractions by splitting their attention between the puzzle box task and remaining vigilant. However, those exposed to human residents more often were more vigilant. We provide the first evidence of cognitive flexibility in urban yellow mongooses, which enables them to modify their behaviour to urban environments.

Incorporating Trauma-Informed Care Strategies Into the Assessment of and Intervention for Food Selectivity: A Pilot Investigation

Autistic children are at an increased risk for both (a) exhibiting problematic eating behaviors such as food selectivity and (b) experiencing potentially traumatic events and correlated posttraumatic stress symptoms. Not only could a history of trauma directly influence the development of food selectivity but may also negatively impact the efficacy and social validity of existing evidence-based interventions. There is currently very little published research on interventions for food selectivity that incorporate commitments and strategies of trauma-informed care. In the current study, we sought to apply a trauma-informed approach to address the food selectivity of an autistic adolescent. Via a combination of single-subject experimental designs, we demonstrated that an intervention package inclusive of multiple trauma-informed care strategies directly contributed to increases in consumption of nonpreferred foods. We describe multiple ways in which we recruited and obtained social validation from the adolescent during his participation. Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed.

Comparing Simultaneous and Sequential Food Presentation to Increase Consumption of Novel Target Foods.

Two methods of food presentation (simultaneous and sequential) were compared in an adapted alternating treatment design to determine effects on consumption of target foods for three children with autism in a school setting. Preferred and nonpreferred target foods were nominated by parents, and consumption of reported preferred and nonpreferred foods was directly tested. Preferred and nonpreferred foods were then paired together and assigned to one of two conditions. In the simultaneous condition, bites of preferred and nonpreferred food were presented at the same time, with the nonpreferred food placed behind or inside the preferred food. In the sequential condition, a bite of preferred food was delivered contingent on consumption of a bite of nonpreferred food. Consumption increased in the sequential condition for two out of three participants. Implications for treatment of food selectivity in a school setting are discussed.This study describes two simple interventions to increase consumption of nonpreferred foods that can be implemented in a classroom settingThese data contribute to previous studies comparing sequential versus simultaneous presentation of foods by conducting the procedures in participants' natural settingResults indicate the efficacy of sequential presentation of preferred and nonpreferred foods without the use of escape extinctionResults also suggest further research comparing sequential versus simultaneous food presentation is warranted, given the few direct comparisons that currently exist and their overall mixed results regarding relative efficacy.

Food sharing with friends and acquaintances: A study in preschool boys and girls.

The current study examined whether preschoolers in a (semi-)natural situation shared more food with friends or acquaintances, and whether this was different between boys and girls, older and younger children, and for preferred and non- preferred food. In order to do so, we replicated and extended the classical work of Birch and Billman in a Dutch sample. Participants included 91 children aged between 3 to 6 years (52.7% boys, 93.4% Western European) from a middle- to upper-middle-class neighborhood in the Netherlands. The results revealed that children shared more non-preferred than preferred food with others. Girls gave more non-preferred food to acquaintances than to friends, whereas boys gave more to friends than to acquaintances. No effect of relationship was found for preferred food. Older children shared more food than younger children. Compared to acquaintances, friends made more active attempts to get food. Moreover, children who were not shared with were just as likely to share food as children who were shared with. Overall, only a small degree of agreement with the original study was found: Some significant findings could not be replicated, and some unconfirmed hypotheses of the original study were supported. The results underscore both the need for replications and studying the effect of social-contextual factors in natural settings.

Strategies to Promote Positive Mealtime Behavior in Early Childhood

Picky eating and problem behavior during meals are commonly reported issues among young children, particularly toddlers (Manikam & Perman, 2000). It is estimated that up to 50% of children under the age of 5 experience difficulties during mealtimes (Benjasuwantep et al., 2013). These difficulties may include tantrums when nonpreferred foods are presented, turning their head away from bites, pushing food away, crying, spitting out bites of nonpreferred food, and holding bites in the mouth. Over time, these behaviors can lead to significant limitations in the variety and amount of foods that children consume, thus compromising their growth and development. While there are a variety of reasons a child may engage in these problem behaviors, the food refusal or selectivity often persists after other contributing factors have been resolved (Dobbelsteyn et al., 2005). A behavior analytic approach can be used to address mealtime problem behavior. These interventions are focused on changing aspects of the child’s environment and caregiver response in order to change the child’s behavior during meals. This approach has been well-evaluated in the literature, and many regard it to be the most effective intervention for treating children’s problem behavior during meals (Kerwin, 1999). The scope of this paper was to provide evidence-based behavior analytic recommendations to caregivers, teachers, and other early childhood therapeutic providers. Recommendations provided in this article are applicable to a variety of feeding difficulties that may present in early childhood. While recommendations discussed in this paper have been supported in the literature, research lacks a comprehensive instructional guide of best practices that can be used by providers with limited expertise or experience in feeding concerns.

Prioritizing choice and assent in the assessment and treatment of food selectivity

Food selectivity affects up to 72% and 45% of individuals with and without disabilities, respectively, and there is a need for interventions that rely on positive, unrestrictive strategies. We evaluated an assessment and treatment package for food selectivity for young children with developmental disabilities that prioritized caregiver collaboration, client autonomy, and did not rely on restrictive procedures (e.g. escape extinction). The process involved: (a) collaborating with caregivers on the selection of foods and design of the children’s functional analyses; (b) indirectly and directly measuring food preferences prior to treatment; (c) evaluating the sensitivity of mealtime problem behavior to environmental variables through an interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA); and (c) incorporating the assessment results into a progressive treatment process consisting of choice-making opportunities and differential reinforcement of successive approximations to consumption. Children also had the ability to opt in and out of treatment sessions. The treatment was effective in increasing consumption of nonpreferred foods and successfully extended to caregivers. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Lesions of nucleus accumbens shell abolish socially transmitted food preferences.

Rats adapt their food choices to conform to their conspecifics' dietary preferences. The nucleus accumbens shell is a relevant brain region to process reward-related and motivated behaviours and social information. Here, we hypothesize that the integrity of the nucleus accumbens shell is necessary to show socially transmitted food preferences. We made excitotoxic and sham lesions of nucleus accumbens shell in male Long-Evans rats who performed a social transmission of food preference task. In this task, observer rats revealed their original preference for one out of two food options. Afterward, they were exposed to a demonstrator rat who was fed with the observer's originally non-preferred food, and the observer's food choices were sampled again. Sham lesioned observer rats changed their food preferences following interaction with the demonstrator, specifically by increasing the intake of their originally non-preferred food type. This interaction-related change in preference was not found after nucleus accumbens shell lesions. The lesion effects on choice were not the consequence of impaired social or non-social motivation, anxiety or sensory or motor function, suggesting that they reflected a genuine deficit in social reward revaluation. These results highlight the role of nucleus accumbens shell in revaluating food rewards to match a conspecific's preferences.

Chimpanzees consider freedom of choice in their evaluation of social action.

Judgements of wrongdoing in humans often hinge upon an assessment of whether a perpetrator acted out of free choice: whether they had more than one option. The classic inhibitors of free choice are constraint (e.g. having your hands tied together) and ignorance (e.g. being unaware that an alternative exists). Here, across two studies, we investigate whether chimpanzees consider these factors in their evaluation of social action. Chimpanzees interacted with a human experimenter who handed them a non-preferred item of food, either because they were physically constrained from accessing the preferred item (Experiment 1) or because they were ignorant of the availability of the preferred item (Experiment 2). We found that chimpanzees were more likely to accept the non-preferred food and showed fewer negative emotional responses when the experimenter was physically constrained compared with when they had free choice. We did not, however, find an effect of ignorance on chimpanzee's evaluation. Freedom of choice factors into chimpanzees' evaluation of how they are treated, but it is unclear whether mental state reasoning is involved in this assessment.

Further evaluation of contingency modeling to increase consumption of nutritive foods in children with autism and food selectivity

AbstractResearch suggests contingency modeling with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior can increase consumption of nonpreferred foods in some children with feeding problems. The current study further evaluated the effectiveness of this treatment with three children with food selectivity and autism. Participants first observed a positive reinforcement contingency in which the confederate model accessed preferred items and edibles contingent on consuming all of the target foods on their plate. If the participant imitated the model and consumed all of their food, they too received access to the same preferred items and edibles. When this contingency was ineffective for two participants, the confederate and feeder modeled nonremoval of the spoon, which increased consumption for both participants. We conclude with a discussion of potential underlying mechanisms for the effects and future research.

The Ape Lottery: Chimpanzees Fail To Consider Spatial Information When Drawing Statistical Inferences

Humans and nonhuman great apes share a sense for intuitive statistics, making intuitive probability judgments based on proportional information. This ability is of tremendous importance, in particular for predicting the outcome of events using prior information and for inferring general regularities from limited numbers of observations. Already in infancy, humans functionally integrate intuitive statistics with other cognitive domains, rendering this type of reasoning a powerful tool to make rational decisions in a variety of contexts. Recent research suggests that chimpanzees are capable of one type of such cross-domain integration: The integration of statistical and social information. Here, we investigated whether apes can also integrate physical information into their statistical inferences. We tested 14 sanctuary-living chimpanzees in a new task setup consisting of two “gumball machine”-apparatuses that were filled with different combinations of preferred and non-preferred food items. In four test conditions, subjects decided which of two apparatuses they wanted to operate to receive a random sample, while we varied both the proportional composition of the food items as well as their spatial configuration above and below a barrier. To receive the more favorable sample, apes needed to integrate proportional and spatial information. Chimpanzees succeeded in conditions in which we provided them either with proportional information or spatial information, but they failed to correctly integrate both types of information when they were in conflict. Whether these limitations in chimpanzees' performance reflect true limits of cognitive competence or merely performance limitations due to accessory task demands is still an open question.

Tactile Play and Oral Acceptance of Wet Food Items

Abstract Date Presented 04/23/21 Limited evidence-based intervention approaches are available to treat sensory-based feeding problems in children. This study explored the effects of tactile play on the oral acceptance of wet food items using the sequential-oral-sensory approach. After 6 weeks, all three subjects increased acceptance of the nonpreferred food. This research emphasizes the effectiveness of tactile play in nonfood items, group treatment, and exposure to aversive food while including caregivers in treatment. Primary Author and Speaker: Julia M. Hawkins Additional Authors and Speakers: Claudia List Hilton, Alex Casteel, Ickpyo Hong, and Yung-Chi Sung

Parent Teleconsultation to Increase Bites Consumed: A Demonstration Across Foods for a Child With ARFID and ASD.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience feeding dysfunction at a substantially higher proportion than their neurotypical peers. Feeding concerns can provide considerable challenges for parents, and as such, helping parents of children with ASD provide effective mealtime interventions for interfering behavior is critical, especially if parents have individual circumstances that affect their ability to effectively implement these feeding interventions. This study contributes to the parent-implemented feeding-intervention literature by demonstrating that a parent with ASD can implement a pediatric feeding intervention in the home with their child with ASD, despite contributing mental health factors. To address family needs, we developed a socially valid and individualized intervention, which we delivered over telehealth. The intervention resulted in an increase in the consumption of previously nonpreferred foods, while the caregiver maintained adequate levels of procedural fidelity. Practical considerations and implications are discussed.

Unpacking the “black box” of global food insecurity and mental health

Food insecurity is a global concern. While it was once characterized mainly as a problem of undernutrition, it is now recognized that a person may be food insecure without experiencing hunger. Numerous studies have demonstrated that food insecurity is strongly related to poor mental health around the world, but the mechanisms that underpin that relationship remain poorly understood. One body of research from nutritional sciences posits that nutrient deficiency impacts brain function, producing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Another body of research from the social sciences posits that the social consequences of having to eat non-preferred foods or obtain food in socially unacceptable ways may compromise mental health through stress. This study was designed to clarify the mechanisms linking food insecurity and mental health using case studies in rural Brazil and urban Ethiopia. Working with samples consisting of about 200 adult household decision-makers (mostly female) recruited between 2015 and 2019 at each site, we tested for nutritional and social mediation of the food insecurity-mental health relationship using multivariable linear regression and mediation analysis. Our analyses found no evidence of mediation in either setting. Moreover, there was no association between nutritional status variables and food insecurity. These findings suggest that food insecurity likely impacts mental health directly through forms of basic needs deprivation, such as worrying about where one's next meal will come from, rather than by acting as a social signal or even by impacting nutritional status. These results underscore the power of basic-needs deprivation for impacting mental health.

Challenges and Successes in Addressing Food Selectivity in Children With Developmental Disabilities During Preschool Mealtimes

We evaluated the effects of a multicomponent intervention to address food selectivity issues of 3 preschoolers with developmental disabilities. The intervention comprised strategies evidencing ecological validity in both research and practice. All sessions took place during typical mealtimes in children's classroom or lunchroom, with peers present, and a school-based staff member serving as the instructor. A multiple probe design across behaviors (touch, smell, taste, and eat), with a nested changing criterion design in the final tier, was used to evaluate changes in eating behaviors. Exploratory behaviors related to eating increased for all children; however, the designed intervention did not result in increased consumption of nonpreferred foods. Modifications resulted in one child demonstrating consistent increases in the consumption of nonpreferred foods, but these modifications did not result in increased consumption for other children. Challenges and future directions in treating food selectivity using resources typically available during mealtimes in preschool settings are discussed.

The Impact of Tactile Play on Increasing Oral Acceptance of Wet Food Items

Abstract Date Presented 03/26/20 This is a case study of a seven year old attending sessions once a week for six weeks with play in a nonpreferred wet food item followed by the presentation of the same wet food for eating using the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach. Data was collected by coding the SOS hierarchy steps, and results showed the child increased the variety of novel foods in the diet, decreased negative behaviors at mealtime, and accepted the nonpreferred wet food at home closer to the times of direct intervention. Primary Author and Speaker: Julia Hawkins Contributing Authors: Bridget Burnett, Julia Corello, Kaitlyn Heath, Abigail Schmidt, Chelsea Scott, David Prier, Alexis Ishman

Combining Stimulus Fading with Simultaneous Stimulus Presentation in a School Setting for Food Selectivity in a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The participant was a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who displayed severe food selectivity, which raised concerns about imbalanced nutrient consumption. The intervention used combined stimulus fading with simultaneous stimulus presentation without escape extinction (EE) and was implemented by teachers in a school setting. In intervention I, which used only stimulus fade-in of non-preferred foods, favorable results were not obtained. In intervention II, simultaneous stimulus presentation of a preferred food combined with stimulus fade-in of non-preferred foods, Silva’s consumption was stabilized at 100% consumption of three non-preferred foods. When intervention II was terminated, the child’s mother requested the inclusion of two additional non-preferred foods, so the intervention was extended based on a fading protocol planned with and to be used by the mother. The effects of the intervention were maintained at the 3-month post-intervention follow-up. The child’s parents and teachers showed high acceptance of this intervention. The current study offers further evidence that combining antecedent-based interventions without EE has the potential to yield favorable results with some children.