Department of Psychology, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, UK.
Department of Psychology, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, UK.
Appetite. 2018 May 1;124:24-32. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.043. Epub 2017 May 26.
Evidence suggests a role for self-reported working memory (WM) in self-reported food intake, but it is not known which WM sub-components are involved. It is also important to consider how individual differences in dietary restraint and disinhibition influence WM and the impact of this on food choice. The current study assessed the relationship between WM sub-components and food choice, using computerised measures of WM sub-components and a direct assessment of food intake. The role of dieting success (measured by restraint and disinhibition) as a distal predictor of food choice that influences food choices via WM, and the role of WM more generally in dieting success were investigated. Female undergraduate students (N = 117, mean age: 18.9 years, mean BMI: 21.6 kg/m) completed computer tasks assessing three components of WM (updating, phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad) and a snack food taste-test. Greater visuospatial WM span was associated with a higher (lower) percentage of food intake that was low (high) energy dense. It was also found that unsuccessful dieters (high restraint, high disinhibition) had poorer visuospatial WM span and consumed a lower (higher) percentage of low (high) energy dense food. Visuospatial WM span significantly mediated the relationship between dieting success and percentage of low energy dense food intake. Further, dietary restraint was associated with poorer updating ability, irrespective of disinhibition. These findings suggest that better visuospatial WM is associated with a greater (reduced) preference for low (high) energy dense foods, and that deficits in visuospatial WM may undermine dieting attempts. Future work should assess whether the ability to deal with food cravings mediates the relationship between visuospatial WM and dieting success and investigate how WM may influence the mechanisms underlying behavioural control.
证据表明，自我报告的工作记忆（WM）在自我报告的食物摄入量中起作用，但尚不清楚涉及哪些 WM 子成分。考虑到饮食抑制和去抑制的个体差异如何影响 WM 以及这对食物选择的影响也很重要。本研究使用 WM 子成分的计算机化测量和对食物摄入量的直接评估，评估了 WM 子成分与食物选择之间的关系。研究考察了节食成功（通过抑制和去抑制来衡量）作为食物选择的远端预测因子，通过 WM 影响食物选择的作用，以及 WM 在节食成功中的一般作用。研究纳入了 117 名女大学生（平均年龄：18.9 岁，平均 BMI：21.6 kg/m2），她们完成了计算机任务，评估了 WM 的三个成分（更新、语音回路和视空间工作记忆）和小吃食物味觉测试。更大的视空间 WM 跨度与摄入的食物具有更高（更低）的低（高）能量密度百分比相关。研究还发现，节食不成功的人（高抑制、高去抑制）的视空间 WM 跨度较差，摄入的低（高）能量密度食物百分比较低（较高）。视空间 WM 跨度显著介导了节食成功与低能量密度食物摄入百分比之间的关系。此外，无论去抑制如何，饮食抑制都与较差的更新能力相关。这些发现表明，更好的视空间 WM 与对低（高）能量密度食物的更大（减少）偏好相关，而视空间 WM 缺陷可能会破坏节食尝试。未来的研究应该评估处理食物渴望的能力是否调节了视空间 WM 与节食成功之间的关系，并研究 WM 如何影响行为控制的潜在机制。
