How we decide what to eat: Toward an interdisciplinary model of gut–brain interactions

Abstract

Everyday dietary decisions have important short-term and long-term consequences for health and well-being. How do we decide what to eat, and what physiological and neurobiological systems are involved in those decisions? Here, we integrate findings from thus-far separate literatures: (a) the cognitive neuroscience of dietary decision-making, and (b) growing evidence of gutbrain interactions and especially influences of the gut microbiome on diet and health outcomes. We review findings that suggest that dietary decisions and food consumption influence nutrient sensing, homeostatic signaling in the gut, and the composition of the gut microbiome. In turn, the microbiome can influence host health and behavior. Through reward signaling pathways, the microbiome could potentially affect food and drink decisions. Such bidirectional links between gut microbiome and the brain systems underlying dietary decision-making may lead to self-reinforcing feedback loops that determine long-term dietary patterns, body mass, and health outcomes.

How motivational interviewing shifts food choices and craving-related brain responses to healthier options

“…While these correlations should be interpreted with caution given the small sample size, they suggest that participants with higher BMI present greater NCS responses to healthy food choices and lower NCS responses to tasty food after change talk. Brain activation, especially within the brain’s value and reward systems, which are a prominent part of the NCS, is influenced by weight status and hormones that signal energy states, such as leptin, which are directly related to body fat (Zanchi et al, 2017; Schmidt et al, 2021; Plassmann et al, 2022). Therefore, links between the brain, body composition, and energy-store signaling hormones could explain our correlational findings.…”

Reconsidering the path for neural and physiological methods in consumer psychology

“…Another novel stream in this area is how the gut microbiome – the microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract – impacts well‐being and brain function in its host (Morais et al., 2020). These microorganisms are, among other things, shaped by what we eat, but recent research also suggests that there might be a bidirectional link – meaning that potentially they affect how we make decisions about what to eat (Plassmann et al., 2022). The gut microbiome and the brain are linked via various biochemical and neurophysiological pathways in what has been termed the gut microbiota–brain axis (Cryan et al., 2019; Mayer, 2011).…”

Obesity – A Matter of Motivation?

“…Collectively, the orexigenic peptide ghrelin seems to enhance motivational behavior in rodents by upregulating dopaminergic transmission in the mesolimbic system, whereas postprandial and anorexigenic peptides (such as insulin, GLP1, leptin, and probably amylin) have the opposite effect on dopaminergic function and motivation [63]. However, the food itself, which is used as a rein forcer in motivational paradigms, exerts a time-dependent effect on dopamine release with an immediate orosensory and delayed postingestive dopaminergic response [37].…”