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Modifying automatic responses to food cues using cognitive control training and brain stimulation

Sedgmond, Jemma 2021. Modifying automatic responses to food cues using cognitive control training and brain stimulation. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

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Abstract

This thesis set out to investigate the potential role of brain stimulation and behavioural training paradigms in modifying automatic responses to food cues. A brief summary of the design and key findings of each chapter is detailed below. In Chapter 2, I aimed to replicate previous findings that had demonstrated an effect of tDCS on food craving and food consumption. Participants received either active or sham tDCS. Food craving was measured pre-and post-stimulation, and ad libitum food consumption was measured following stimulation. Analyses revealed anecdotal to moderate evidence against the effect of tDCS on food craving and food consumption. In Chapter 3, I investigated whether HD-tDCS could reduce food craving and desire to eat. Participants received both active and sham stimulation across two sessions. Food craving and desire to eat were measured pre-and post-stimulation. There was no evidence for an effect of HD-tDCS on food craving or desire to eat with results showing anecdotal to moderate evidence for H0. In Chapter 4, I used a novel training task in an online experiment to investigate the effects on food liking. Explicit and implicit liking of trained foods was compared to untrained foods. Analyses revealed moderate to strong evidence against the effect of the training task on explicit and implicit liking. In Chapter 5, I explored the effects of evaluative conditioning on explicit and implicit food liking across two experiments; the first a lab-based experiment, the second an online experiment. Comparisons were made between foods based on the valence of the stimuli they had been paired with. Experiment 1 & 2 demonstrated anecdotal to very strong evidence against the effect of evaluative conditioning on liking. In this thesis, I discuss the importance of task parameters, sample selection, and open science in this research area

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Date Type: Completion
Status: Unpublished
Schools: Psychology
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 1 October 2021
Date of Acceptance: 1 October 2021
Last Modified: 10 Dec 2022 02:51
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/144604

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