{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T03:33:52Z","timestamp":1784864032111,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]],"date-time":"2023-02-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1677024000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Most people are often tempted by their impulses to \u201cindulge\u201d in high-calorie food, even if this behaviour is not consistent with their goal to control weight in the long term and might not be healthy. The outcome of this conflict is strongly dependent on inhibitory control. It has already been reported that individuals with weaker inhibitory control consume more high-calorie food, are more often unsuccessful dieters, overweight or obese compared to people with more effective inhibitory control. In the present study, we aimed at investigating inhibitory control in the context of human eating behaviour. A sample of 20 healthy normal-weight adults performed a 50% probability visual affective Go\/NoGo task involving food (high- and low-calorie) and non-food images as stimuli. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was administered over the right primary motor cortex (M1) either 300\u2009ms after image presentation to measure corticospinal excitability during the different stimulus categories or 300\u2009ms after the appearance of a fixation point, as a control stimulation condition. The experimental session consisted of a food target and a non-food target block. Behavioural outcomes showed a natural implicit inclination towards high-calorie food in that participants were faster and more accurate compared to the other categories. This advantage was selectively deleted by TMS, which slowed down reaction times. MEPs did not differ according to the stimulus category, but, as expected, were bigger for Go compared to NoGo trials. Participants judged high-calorie food also as more appetising than low-calorie food images. Overall, our results point to a differential modulation when targeting inhibitory control, in favour of the more palatable food category (high-calorie). Present data suggest that the activity of the motor system is modulated by food nutritional value, being more engaged by appetising food. Future work should explore to what extent these processes are affected in patients with eating disorders and should aim to better characterise the related dynamics of cortical connectivity within the motor network.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2023.1016017","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]],"date-time":"2023-02-22T08:59:01Z","timestamp":1677056341000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Challenging inhibitory control with high- and low-calorie food: A behavioural and TMS study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Valentina","family":"Bianco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Domenica","family":"Veniero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessia","family":"D\u2019Acunto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giacomo","family":"Koch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Picazio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex","author":"Pavlov","year":"1927"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1037\/0278-6133.19.suppl1.5","article-title":"Long-term maintenance of weight loss: current status","volume":"19","author":"Jeffery","year":"2000","journal-title":"Health Psychol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"729","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physbeh.2008.04.010","article-title":"Caloric restriction in the presence of attractive food cues: external cues, eating, and weight","volume":"94","author":"Polivy","year":"2008","journal-title":"Physiol Behav"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"220","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327957pspr0803_1","article-title":"Reflective and impulsive determinants of social behavior","volume":"8","author":"Strack","year":"2004","journal-title":"Personal Soc Psychol Rev"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brat.2008.10.016","article-title":"High-restrained eaters only overeat when they are also impulsive","volume":"47","author":"Jansen","year":"2009","journal-title":"Behav Res Ther"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2006.11.008","article-title":"The influence of trait and induced state impulsivity on food intake in normal-weight healthy women","volume":"49","author":"Guerrieri","year":"2007","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"905","DOI":"10.1038\/ijo.2009.98","article-title":"The interactive effect of hunger and impulsivity on food intake and purchase in a virtual supermarket","volume":"33","author":"Nederkoorn","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int J Obes"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1007\/s40429-014-0038-3","article-title":"Food cue reactivity, obesity, and impulsivity: are they associated?","volume":"1","author":"van den Akker","year":"2014","journal-title":"Curr Addict Rep"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e34000","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0034000","article-title":"Thinking about eating food activates visual cortex with reduced bilateral cerebellar activation in females with anorexia nervosa: an fMRI study","volume":"7","author":"Brooks","year":"2012","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"773","DOI":"10.1017\/S1355617712000446","article-title":"Increased capacity to delay reward in anorexia nervosa","volume":"18","author":"Steinglass","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Int Neuropsychol Soc"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2430","DOI":"10.1111\/ejn.14352","article-title":"Uncontrolled eating: a unifying heritable trait linked with obesity, overeating, personality and the brain","volume":"50","author":"Vainik","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"410","DOI":"10.3389\/fnbeh.2014.00410","article-title":"Are extremes of consumption in eating disorders related to an altered balance between reward and inhibition?","volume":"8","author":"Wierenga","year":"2014","journal-title":"Front Behav Neurosci"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"120","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2007.06.007","article-title":"The role of implicit wanting in relation to explicit liking and wanting for food: implications for appetite control","volume":"50","author":"Finlayson","year":"2008","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"607","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coph.2007.10.011","article-title":"Eating for pleasure or calories","volume":"7","author":"Zheng","year":"2007","journal-title":"Curr Opin Pharmacol"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/brb3.2458","article-title":"Impulsivity and compulsivity as parallel mediators of emotion dysregulation in eating-related addictive-like behaviours, alcohol use, and compulsive exercise","volume":"12","author":"Fors\u00e9n Mantilla","year":"2021","journal-title":"Brain Behav"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2016.02.010","article-title":"A systematic review of the relationship between eating, weight and inhibitory control using the stop signal task","volume":"64","author":"Bartholdy","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2015.03.013","article-title":"Could training executive function improve treatment outcomes for eating disorders?","volume":"90","author":"Juarascio","year":"2015","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"714","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2016.06.041","article-title":"Inhibitory control in obesity and binge eating disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of neurocognitive and neuroimaging studies","volume":"68","author":"Lavagnino","year":"","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2275","DOI":"10.1038\/npp.2016.26","article-title":"Reduced inhibitory control mediates the relationship between cortical thickness in the right superior frontal gyrus and body mass index","volume":"41","author":"Lavagnino","year":"","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1002\/erv.2566","article-title":"To go or not to go: a proof of concept study testing food-specific inhibition training for women with eating and weight disorders","volume":"26","author":"Turton","year":"2018","journal-title":"Eur. Eating Disord. Rev."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"700","DOI":"10.1080\/13803395.2016.1151480","article-title":"Dysfunction of response inhibition in eating disorders","volume":"38","author":"Yano","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Clin Exp Neuropsychol"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104721","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2022.104721","article-title":"A systematic and meta-analytic review on the neural correlates of viewing high-and low-calorie foods among normal-weight adults","volume":"138","author":"Zheng","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1002\/eat.20966","article-title":"Out of control? Inhibition processes in eating disorders from a personality and cognitive perspective","volume":"45","author":"Claes","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int J Eat Disord"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"640","DOI":"10.1038\/oby.2008.638","article-title":"Neurobehavioral inhibition of reward-driven feeding: implications for dieting and obesity","volume":"17","author":"Appelhans","year":"2009","journal-title":"Obesity"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1696","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2010.05.059","article-title":"Body mass correlates inversely with inhibitory control in response to food among adolescent girls: an fMRI study","volume":"52","author":"Batterink","year":"2010","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1334","DOI":"10.1038\/ijo.2011.184","article-title":"Impairment of inhibitory control in response to food-associated cues and attentional bias of obese participants and normal-weight controls","volume":"36","author":"Loeber","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int J Obes"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2017.02.006","article-title":"Physiological markers of motor inhibition during human behavior","volume":"40","author":"Duque","year":"2017","journal-title":"Trends Neurosci"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"680","DOI":"10.1007\/s12311-015-0731-3","article-title":"Cerebellar control on prefrontal-motor connectivity during movement inhibition","volume":"15","author":"Picazio","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cerebellum"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsaa113","article-title":"Is obesity related to enhanced neural reactivity to visual food cues? A review and meta-analysis","author":"Morys","year":"2020","journal-title":"Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1149","DOI":"10.3758\/BRM.41.4.1149","article-title":"Statistical power analyses using G*power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses","volume":"41","author":"Faul","year":"2009","journal-title":"Behav Res Methods"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e13518","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.13518","article-title":"No evidence of calorie-related modulation of N2 in food-related go\/no-go training: a preregistered ERP study","volume":"57","author":"Aulbach","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref32","first-page":"309","article-title":"Cognitive behavior therapy and eating disorders","volume-title":"Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0)","author":"Fairburn","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"509","DOI":"10.1007\/s40519-016-0276-6","article-title":"The eating disorder examination questionnaire: reliability and validity of the Italian version","volume":"22","author":"Calugi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eat Weight Disord"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1016\/0028-3932(71)90067-4","article-title":"The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory","volume":"9","author":"Oldfield","year":"1971","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2014.02.014","article-title":"A systematic review of the effects of experimental fasting on cognition","volume":"77","author":"Benau","year":"2014","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2019.00307","article-title":"Food-Pics_Extended-an image database for experimental research on eating and appetite: additional images, normative ratings and an updated review","volume":"10","author":"Blechert","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e12871","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.12871","article-title":"Prepotent motor activity and inhibitory control demands in different variants of the go\/no-go paradigm","volume":"55","author":"Wessel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2940","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2014.10.043","article-title":"Prefrontal control over motor cortex cycles at beta frequency during movement inhibition","volume":"24","author":"Picazio","year":"2014","journal-title":"Curr Biol"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2862","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0002862","article-title":"Perceiving what is reachable depends on motor representations: evidence from a transcranial magnetic stimulation study","volume":"3","author":"Coello","year":"2008","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brs.2014.08.009","article-title":"Sequential roles of primary somatosensory cortex and posterior parietal cortex in tactile-visual cross-modal working memory: a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) study","volume":"8","author":"Ku","year":"2015","journal-title":"Brain Stimul"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105510","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bandc.2019.105510","article-title":"Action processing in the motor system: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) evidence of shared mechanisms in the visual and linguistic modalities","volume":"139","author":"Gianelli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Brain Cogn"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e14194","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.14194","article-title":"Bilateral motor cortex functional differences in left-handed approaching-avoiding behavior","volume":"60","author":"Xia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"755","DOI":"10.1002\/mds.26520","article-title":"Altered inhibitory interaction among inferior frontal and motor cortex in L-dopa induced dyskinesias","volume":"31","author":"Ponzo","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mov Disord"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1521","DOI":"10.1109\/TNSRE.2019.2923724","article-title":"Principal component regression on motor evoked potential in single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation","volume":"27","author":"Nguyen","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng"},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"768","DOI":"10.1002\/1097-4679(199511)51:6<768::aid-jclp2270510607>3.0.co;2-1","article-title":"Factor structure of the Barratt impulsiveness scale","volume":"51","author":"Patton","year":"1995","journal-title":"J Clin Psychol"},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2018.12.043","article-title":"The impulsive brain: neural underpinnings of binge eating behavior in normal-weight adults","volume":"136","author":"Oliva","year":"2019","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.3389\/fnbeh.2018.00133","article-title":"New treatment perspectives in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: the efficacy of non-invasive brain-directed treatment","volume":"12","author":"Costanzo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Behav Neurosci"},{"key":"ref48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2891-13-92","article-title":"Poor ability to resist tempting calorie rich food is linked to altered balance between neural systems involved in urge and self-control","volume":"13","author":"He","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nutr J"},{"key":"ref49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1007\/s11745-003-1039-3","article-title":"The role of energy density","volume":"38","author":"Drewnowski","year":"2003","journal-title":"Lipids"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbr.2008.10.035","article-title":"Hunger is the best spice: an fMRI study of the effects of attention, hunger and calorie content on food reward processing in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex","volume":"198","author":"Siep","year":"2009","journal-title":"Behav Brain Res"},{"key":"ref51","first-page":"A23.","article-title":"Eating as an automatic behavior","volume":"5","author":"Cohen","year":"2008","journal-title":"Prev Chronic Dis"},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1002\/cne.20769","article-title":"A proposed hypothalamic\u2013thalamic\u2013striatal axis for the integration of energy balance, arousal, and food reward","volume":"493","author":"Kelley","year":"2005","journal-title":"J Comp Neurol"},{"key":"ref53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"246","DOI":"10.1055\/a-1156-8899","article-title":"Nicht-invasive Hirnstimulation als Behandlungsverfahren bei Essst\u00f6rungen \u2013 ein narrativer \u00dcberblick [Non-invasive brain stimulation in the treatment of eating disorders \u2013 a narrative review]","volume":"70","author":"Schag","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol"},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"982","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.12860","article-title":"Testing food-related inhibitory control to high-and low-calorie food stimuli: electrophysiological responses to high-calorie food stimuli predict calorie and carbohydrate intake","volume":"54","author":"Carbine","year":"2017","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2175","DOI":"10.1038\/oby.2011.57","article-title":"Inhibiting food reward: delay discounting, food reward sensitivity, and palatable food intake in overweight and obese women","volume":"19","author":"Appelhans","year":"2011","journal-title":"Obesity (Silver Spring)"},{"key":"ref56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1037\/a0025407","article-title":"Executive control resources and frequency of fatty food consumption: findings from an age-stratified community sample","volume":"31","author":"Hall","year":"2012","journal-title":"Health Psychol"},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2012.11.008","article-title":"Neurobehavioural correlates of body mass index and eating behaviours in adults: a systematic review","volume":"37","author":"Vainik","year":"2013","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"ref58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1161","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/123.6.1161","article-title":"Human corticospinal excitability evaluated with transcranial magnetic stimulation during different reaction time paradigms","volume":"123","author":"Leocani","year":"2000","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"ref59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-001-0943-2","article-title":"Human cortical activities during go\/NoGo tasks with opposite motor control paradigms","volume":"142","author":"Yamanaka","year":"2002","journal-title":"Exp Brain Res"},{"key":"ref60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"340","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2019.00340","article-title":"Motor preparation for action inhibition: a review of single pulse TMS studies using the go\/NoGo paradigm","volume":"10","author":"Ficarella","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"ref61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00893","article-title":"Withholding a reward-driven action: studies of the rise and fall of motor activation and the effect of cognitive depletion","volume":"28","author":"Freeman","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Cogn Neurosci"},{"key":"ref62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"596","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brs.2016.12.009","article-title":"The critical role of the dorsal fronto-median cortex in voluntary action inhibition: a TMS study","volume":"10","author":"Ficarella","year":"2017","journal-title":"Brain Stimul"},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pscychresns.2016.10.004","article-title":"Differential activation of the frontal pole to high vs low calorie foods: the neural basis of food preference in anorexia nervosa?","volume":"258","author":"Scaife","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging"},{"key":"ref64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-789X.2007.00321.x","article-title":"Understanding the mechanisms of food intake and obesity","volume":"8","author":"Rolls","year":"2007","journal-title":"Obes Rev"},{"key":"ref65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"636","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2008.02.031","article-title":"Widespread reward-system activation in obese women in response to pictures of high-calorie foods","volume":"41","author":"Stoeckel","year":"2008","journal-title":"NeuroImage"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2023.1016017\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]],"date-time":"2023-02-22T08:59:06Z","timestamp":1677056346000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2023.1016017\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]]},"references-count":65,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fnut.2023.1016017"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnut.2023.1016017","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-861X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-861X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]]},"article-number":"1016017"}}