Evoked Brain Activity in Food Preference Decisions: Links to Eating Behavior and General Nutritional Knowledge

The article explores the characteristics of evoked brain activity during food preference decisions, emphasizing the role of psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms. The relevance of studying eating behavior as a multifaceted phenomenon is highlighted, with attention to the cognitive, emotional, and physiological factors that influence food preferences. The study involved 40 participants (70% female). Psychological testing included the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (Russian version by I.G. Malkina-Pykh, 2007), the Thought and Behavior Questionnaire (adapted by A.V. Anikina and T.A. Rebeko, 2009), the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (Russian version, 2018), and the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (translated version of Kliemann, 2016). Neurophysiological data were collected using EEG tasks based on a Go/NoGo paradigm. Mathematical and statistical methods included the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, and k-means cluster analysis. The study revealed significant differences in brain activity between groups with varying psychological characteristics and levels of nutritional knowledge. These findings align with previous research, confirming the link between cognitive control, impulsivity, and food preferences. Enhanced activation in the temporo-occipital regions was observed in participants with higher nutritional awareness. The role of psychological traits was found to outweigh knowledge levels in shaping dysfunctional eating patterns, highlighting the need for individualized approaches in prevention and treatment. The limitations, including the sample size and absence of participants with clinical eating disorders, are discussed alongside recommendations for future research.