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. 2017 Dec 7:11:597.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00597. eCollection 2017.

Gender Differences in Food Choice: Effects of Superior Temporal Sulcus Stimulation

Valerio Manippa  1 , Caterina Padulo  2 , Laura N van der Laan  3 , Alfredo Brancucci  2
Affiliations

Gender Differences in Food Choice: Effects of Superior Temporal Sulcus Stimulation

Valerio Manippa et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

The easy availability of food has caused a shift from eating for survival to hedonic eating. Women, compared to men, have shown to respond differently to food cues in the environment on a behavioral and a neural level, in particular to energy rich (compared to low energy) foods. It has been demonstrated that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the only region exhibiting greater activation for high vs. low calorie food choices. In order to test for a possible causal role of STS in food choice, we applied high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on STS assuming a different response pattern between males and females. Our participants (18 females, 17 males) performed a forced choice task between food pairs matched for individual liking but differed in calorie, during the left STS, right STS stimulation and sham condition. Male participants showed a general preference for low calorie (LC) foods compared to females. In addition, we observed in males, but not in females, an increase of high calorie (HC) food choice during right STS tRNS compared to sham condition and left STS tRNS. Finally, we found an increase of missed choices during right STS stimulation compared to sham condition and left STS stimulation. In conclusion, thanks to tRNS evidence, we both confirm the involvement and suggest a causal role of right posterior STS in feeding behavior. Moreover, we suggest that gender differences exist in STS mechanisms underlying food choice.

Keywords: calorie; food choice; food evaluation; sex differences; superior temporal sulcus; transcranial random noise stimulation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial sequence in the food rating task.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Two consecutive examples of forced choice task trials carried out during high-frequency (HF) transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) conditions. In the 3 s lapse of food pairs presentation, participants had to make their choice by key press. Top left: position of the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) electrode, the reference electrode was placed on the left shoulder (and vice versa for left STS electrode).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interaction between tRNS condition and participants gender on % of high-calorie (HC) food choice (lSTS, left posterior STS stimulation; SH, Sham control condition; rSTS, right posterior STS stimulation). Data are presented as mean values + standard errors. *p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of tRNS condition on rank transformed % of missed choices (lSTS, left posterior STS stimulation; SH, Sham control condition; rSTS, right posterior STS stimulation). Data are presented as mean values + standard errors. *p < 0.05.
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