No effect of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on food craving, food reward and subjective appetite in females displaying mild-to-moderate binge-type behaviour

Jordan D Beaumont; Michelle Dalton; Danielle Davis; Graham Finlayson; Alexander Nowicky; Mark Russell; Martin J Barwood

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2023.106997

No effect of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on food craving, food reward and subjective appetite in females displaying mild-to-moderate binge-type behaviour

Appetite. 2023 Oct 1:189:106997. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106997. Epub 2023 Aug 11.

Authors

Jordan D Beaumont¹, Michelle Dalton², Danielle Davis², Graham Finlayson³, Alexander Nowicky⁴, Mark Russell², Martin J Barwood²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, LS18 5HD, UK; Food and Nutrition Group, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB, UK. Electronic address: j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk.
² Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, LS18 5HD, UK.
³ Appetite Control and Energy Balance Group, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JU, UK.
⁴ Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK.

PMID: 37574640
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106997

Abstract

Previous work suggests there may be an effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on appetite control in people at risk of overconsumption, however findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to further understand the potential eating behaviour trait-dependent effect of tDCS, specifically in those with binge-type behaviour. Seventeen females (23 ± 7 years, 25.4 ± 3.8 kg m^-2) with mild-to-moderate binge eating behaviour completed two sessions of double-blind, randomised and counterbalanced anodal and sham tDCS applied over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at 2.0 mA for 20 min. Subjective appetite visual analogue scales (VAS), the Food Craving Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S), and Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire (LFPQ) were completed pre- and post-tDCS. Participants then consumed a fixed-energy meal, followed by the VAS, FCQ-S and LFPQ. No difference between pre- and post-tDCS scores were found across fullness (p = 0.275, BF₁₀ = 0.040), prospective consumption (p = 0.127, BF₁₀ = 0.063), desire to eat (p = 0.247, BF₁₀ = 0.054) or FCQ-S measures (p = 0.918, BF₁₀ = 0.040) when comparing active and sham protocols. Only explicit liking and wanting for high-fat sweet foods were significantly different between conditions, with increased scores following active tDCS. When controlling for baseline hunger, the significant differences were removed (p = 0.138 to 0.161, BF₁₀ = 0.810 to 1.074). The present data does not support the eating behaviour trait dependency of tDCS in a specific cohort of female participants with mild-to-moderate binge eating scores, and results align with those from individuals with healthy trait scores. This suggests participants with sub-clinical binge eating behaviour do not respond to tDCS. Future work should further explore effects in clinical and sub-clinical populations displaying susceptibility to overconsumption and weight gain.

Keywords: Appetite control; Binge eating; Food craving; Food reward; Neuromodulation.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Appetite*
Craving / physiology
Female
Humans
Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
Prospective Studies
Reward
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation* / methods
Young Adult