University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Exp Gerontol. 2013 Oct;48(10):1062-7. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 Mar 25.
Both caloric restriction and overeating have been shown to affect neural processes associated with reinforcement. Both preclinical and some clinical studies have provided evidence that food restriction may increase reward sensitivity, and while there are mixed findings regarding the effects of overeating on reward sensitivity, there is strong evidence linking this behavior with changes in reward-related brain regions. Evidence of these changes comes in part from findings that show that such eating patterns are associated with increased drug use. The data discussed here regarding the differential effects of various eating patterns on reward systems may be particularly relevant to the aging population, as this population has been shown to exhibit altered reward sensitivity and decreased caloric consumption. Moreover, members of this population appear to be increasingly affected by the current obesity epidemic. Food, like alcohol or drugs, can stimulate its own consumption and produce similar neurochemical changes in the brain. Age-related loss of appetite, decreased eating, and caloric restriction are hypothesized to be associated with changes in the prevalence of substance misuse, abuse, and dependence seen in this cohort.
热量限制和暴饮暴食都已被证明会影响与强化相关的神经过程。临床前和一些临床研究都提供了证据，表明食物限制可能会增加奖励敏感性，而关于暴饮暴食对奖励敏感性的影响存在混合的发现，但有强有力的证据将这种行为与奖励相关脑区的变化联系起来。这些变化的证据部分来自于这样的发现，即这些饮食模式与增加药物使用有关。本文讨论的关于各种饮食模式对奖励系统的不同影响的证据，对于老年人群体可能特别相关，因为已经表明这个人群表现出奖励敏感性改变和热量摄入减少。此外，该人群似乎越来越受到当前肥胖流行的影响。食物，就像酒精或药物一样，可以刺激自身的消费，并在大脑中产生类似的神经化学变化。与该人群中所见的物质使用、滥用和依赖的患病率变化相关的，据推测是与与年龄相关的食欲减退、进食减少和热量限制有关。
