Objective: According to the elaborated intrusion theory of desire, an initial thought about a wanted substance is elaborated with mental imagery, which increases craving and the probability of ...consuming the substance. We used an app-assisted experience sampling approach to test this theory in the context of food craving and eating.Design: Overall, 221 females (mean age = 21 years; mean body mass index = 22) reported craving, mental imagery, and food consumption six times per day (2 h intervals) for seven consecutive days. Additionally, two traits (general food craving and imagery ability) were assessed.Main outcome measures: craving intensity, food consumption.Results: The probability of eating a craved food increased if the vividness of the mental food image and craving intensity increased two hours before - independent of trait food craving and trait imagery ability. We also found evidence of controlled eating behavior, with participants consuming the food they craved in only 38% of the cases.Conclusion: Mental imagery vividness and craving intensity predict consumption of craved food. The association between craving and eating might be stronger in individuals who struggle with controlling their eating behavior. Therefore, future studies should examine these relationships in overweight/obese samples or patients with eating disorders.
It has been shown that affective touch can have stress-buffering effects. The current event-related potential (ERP) study investigated whether affective touch can reduce emotional distress and ...associated late positivity while viewing angry facial expressions. A total of 122 females (mean age = 23 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups to either receive slow/soft brushing of their forearm (affective touch), fast brushing (nonaffective touch), or no touch while viewing images depicting angry and neutral facial expressions. The participants rated their affective state (valence, arousal) before and after the experiment. They also rated the perceived intensity of the angry facial expressions and the pleasantness of touch during the experiment. Components of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) in response to the images that are associated with stimulus significance, attention allocation, and emotion regulation (early LPP: 400–1000 ms; late LPP: 1000–3000 ms) were extracted for a frontal and a centroparietal cluster. Affective touch was associated with reduced amplitudes of the late LPP in the frontal cluster but did not affect centroparietal LPPs (early, late). Affective touch was rated as more pleasant than nonaffective touch but did not change reported valence, arousal, and perceived anger intensity. In conclusion, affective touch modulated a neural indicator of stimulus significance but did not influence self-report measures. More naturalistic touch settings might enhance the effects.
•Administration of affective touch (arm) while viewing angry/neutral faces.•Affective touch reduced amplitudes of the late frontal LPP to angry faces.•Affective touch did not change self-reported affective state.•Affective touch changed a neural indicator of stimulus significance.
Affective touch (gentle/slow brushing of the skin) can facilitate the allocation of processing resources to simultaneously present stimuli from different modalities. The present event-related ...potential (ERP) study investigated whether affective touch can enhance attention to visual cues of healthy food. Female participants (n = 117) were randomly assigned to three different groups that either received affective touch, nonaffective touch (fast brushing of the skin), or no touch during the presentation of pictures of healthy food (fruits and vegetables) and non-food. Electrocortical markers of motivated attention (frontal/parietal P300, late positive potential: LPP) and reported appetite for the depicted food items were compared between the three groups. Nonaffective touch was associated with reduced amplitudes of the frontal P300/LPP (300–1000 ms) for food pictures indexing reduced motivated attention. Affective touch did not influence food cue reactivity (P300/LPP, appetite). Effects of affective touch may be restricted to specific stimuli, e.g. those with social relevance.
Background Early regulatory problems (RPs), i.e., problems with crying, sleeping, and/or feeding during the first years, increase the risk for avoidant personality traits in adulthood, associated ...with social withdrawal and anxiety. Even more, RPs are linked with functional alterations in the adult default mode and salience networks, comprising the brain's allostatic‐interoceptive system (AIS) and playing a role in social interactions. We investigated whether RPs assessed in infancy are associated with difficulties in adult peer relationships mediated by functional alterations of the AIS. Methods As part of a large case‐controlled prospective study, 42 adults with previous RPs and 70 matched controls (mean age = 28.48, SD = 2.65, 51% male) underwent fMRI during rest. The analysis focused on the intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of key nodes of the AIS. Peer relationship quality was assessed via a semi‐structured Life Course Interview and the YASR scale. In these same individuals, RPs were assessed at ages 5, 20 and 56 months. Results RPs in infancy were associated with lower‐quality peer relationships and enhanced functional connectivity of the AIS nodes in adulthood, with a stronger effect for multiple and persistent RPs compared with transient‐multiple or single‐persistent RPs. Importantly, iFC changes of the dorsal mid insula, a primary interoceptive cortex with frontal and temporal regions, mediated the relationship between early RPs and adult peer relationship quality. Conclusions Results indicate long‐lasting social and neural changes associated with early RPs. Our findings further implicate the AIS in both interoceptive and social processes, while indicating the need for early screening of early RPs.
The interactions between social and eating behaviors can be quite pronounced and are mediated by overlapping neural circuits. The present event-related potential study tested whether the imagery of a ...specific prosocial behavior (giving chocolates to grateful children) can influence food cue reactivity. A total of 92 females (mean age = 23.5 years) were randomly assigned to one of three guided imagery conditions. The participants listened to an audio recording and were instructed to imagine one of three possible scenes; giving 30 M&Ms to children, eating 30 M&Ms, or sorting 30 marbles. Directly after the imagery task, the participants were presented with images of M&Ms and marbles while their electroencephalogram was recorded. We examined the Late Positive Potential (LPP) across a fronto-central and a parieto-occipital cluster, M&M craving, and subsequent consumption of (real) M&Ms. The mental imagery of offering M&Ms to children was associated with lower M&M craving and higher fronto-central LPP amplitudes (300–600 ms after picture onset) compared to the other imagery conditions. The consumption of M&Ms did not differ between the groups. The LPP is sensitive to the implementation of craving regulation strategies. Furthermore, heightened LPPs are reliably observed in response to motivationally significant stimuli, conflict, and social context. Future studies are needed to specify the specific psychological processes that are associated with the observed LPP effect. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that mental imagery of receiving a social reward from giving food to others can change components of food cue reactivity in healthy females.
Previous research has demonstrated that imagining consumption of a specific type of food helps individuals to consume less of that food. The present event-related potential study aimed at ...investigating the underlying neural correlates of this appetite-reducing strategy. A total of 86 women (mean age = 23.65 years) were randomly assigned to one of three imagination conditions. In each condition, they listened to a guided imagery script that either described the eating of 30 colorful button-shaped chocolates (M&Ms), the sorting of 30 M&Ms by color, or the sorting of 30 marbles by color. Subsequently to the imagery task, the participants were presented with images of M&Ms and marbles while their electroencephalogram and craving ratings were recorded. The results showed that imaginary eating did not reduce the appetitive value of M&M pictures. The M&M sorting group reported enhanced craving and showed increased late positivity toward M&M pictures (300–600 ms after picture onset) compared to the two other groups. The present findings indicate that the imagined handling of food increases food cue reactivity and that imaginary eating is not a reliable method to reduce appetite.
Introduction
The retrieval of autobiographical memories is influenced by several factors, such as sensory modality and the emotional salience of memory cues. This study aimed at investigating the ...interaction between sensory modalities (olfaction, vision) and emotional dimensions (valence, arousal) of imagery cues, on the frequency, quality, and age distribution of the autobiographical memories (AMs) elicited.
Method
A total of 296 females (aged between 18 and 35 years) received one out of eight brief instructions for olfactory or visual imagery. The participants were asked to create a mental image with either high arousal/positive valence, high arousal/negative valence, low arousal/positive valence, or low arousal/negative valence (e.g., ‘imagine an unpleasant and arousing odor/scene’); no specific stimulus was mentioned in the instruction.
Results
The approach used elicited imagery with autobiographical content in the majority of participants (78%). In terms of frequency, odor imagery, compared to visual imagery, turned out to be more effective at retrieving either unpleasant memories associated with experiences in adulthood, or pleasant childhood memories. In terms of quality, the imagery was rated as less vivid in the olfactory compared to the visual condition (irrespective of valence and arousal of the imagery instruction). Visual imagery was associated with the experience of more diverse emotions (happiness, sadness, anxiety, anger) than odor imagery, which was related primarily with disgust and happiness.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that nonspecific imagery induction is a useful approach in accessing AM.
Implication
This approach presents promising clinical applications, such as in working with autobiographical memory narratives in psychotherapy.
The positive relationship between popularity goals and bullying in early adolescence is documented in many studies. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between student ...social goals of two types (popularity and social preference) and bullying in a diverse sample of early and middle adolescents. Additionally, we aimed to investigate both individual (self‐perceived popularity and social status insecurity) and classroom‐level (the classroom variability in self‐perceived popularity) moderators of the relationship between popularity goals and bullying. A total of 2039 students (59.48% girls; mean age 15.48 years) nested within 106 classrooms participated in the study. Using a cross‐sectional research design, we found that popularity goals were a positive predictor of bullying, while social preference goals were a negative predictor. Self‐perceived popularity and social status insecurity were found to moderate the relationship between popularity goals and bullying; higher levels of bullying were reported by students with high popularity goals and high self‐perceived popularity or high social status insecurity. In addition, popularity goals were a stronger predictor of bullying for students in classrooms with higher classroom variability in self‐perceived popularity.
•Visual food cues capture attention, evoke craving and lead to excessive consumption.•Imagery strategy for reducing attention to food, craving and intake is assessed.•Crushing M&Ms increased ...attention towards M&Ms, did not reduce craving/consumption.•Imagined repeated exposure to food cues has the opposite of the intended effect.
Visual food cues automatically capture our attention. Moreover, food cue exposure is associated with an increased desire to eat (craving) and food consumption. We attempted to reduce the attentional bias to images depicting a specific food (M&Ms), craving, and consumption through mental imagery in a sample of 98 females (mean age = 23.82 years). The participants either listened to a guided imagery script that described the crushing of M&Ms to reduce the appetitive value of the chocolates, or they envisioned the sorting of M&Ms, or marbles (as control conditions). Afterward, participants were presented with images of M&Ms (not crushed) and marbles while their electroencephalogram, craving ratings, and M&M consumption were measured. The visualization of crushing M&Ms was associated with increased early (P200) and late positivity (P300, early LPP) to M&M pictures, which indicate automatic (P200/P300) and deliberate attention (LPP). M&M sorting increased craving but did not influence M&M consumption. Our findings show that imaginary M&M crushing cannot reduce attention to M&M images and even has the opposite of the intended effect.
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a training course »Living e-Motions« for people living with mental health challenges in the context of their recovery. The ...course was developed in the joint project of partners from Spain, Estonia, Slovenia and the UK. The curriculum of the course is focused on emotional education. It uses a narrative approach as a practical way for participants to explore and regulate their emotions and consequently take charge of their recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
Seventeen participants were included in the pilot training in Spain and Estonia. Impact of the training was assessed on measures of life satisfaction, emotion regulation, positive and negative affect and recovery at baseline and directly after training.
Findings
The analysis revealed that participants reported higher life satisfaction, emotion regulation skills, positive affect and recovery after the training. However, because of the small sample size, the mean differences did not reach statistical significance. Further studies on larger samples are needed to test the effectiveness of the training course.
Practical implications
Pilot study findings are encouraging and show that the developed training course has a potential for improving key competencies and abilities needed in daily life, concretely in emotion regulation, positive and negative affect, life satisfaction and recovery.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel training course that uses a narrative approach and focuses on recovery and improvement of key competencies and abilities of individuals with mental health issues.
PDF
