Brain's Response to Chocolate

Behavioral Assessment of the Brain Response to Bioactive Food Components Using Electroretinography (Brain's Response to Chocolate)

The purpose of this study is to test how the brain responds when individuals eat enjoyable foods such as chocolate. Eating certain foods can make one want to keep eating even when feeling full, caused by dopamine in the brain. The researchers believe this dopamine response can be measured by looking at the individual's eye.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; Overweight
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Chocolate

Detailed Description

With obesity at an all-time high, understanding eating behavior beyond physical need is a priority. Food reinforcement is driven by central dopamine activity. However, objective measurement of brain dopamine-related behavioral events is hindered by the lack of non-invasive, accessible techniques that are amenable to testing in a "naturalistic" environment. The goal of this project is to develop a non-invasive, accessible methodology to measure dopaminergic responses to food in a natural setting. This research will use a novel, hand-held electroretinograph (ERG) that does not require eye dilation and uses a skin electrode to measure retinal dopamine activity. Previous work establishes that retinal dopamine activity can be used as a proxy for central dopamine function. The ability to assess both subjective behavioral variables and central dopaminergic responses simultaneously will provide an ideal approach for innovative studies of the control of eating behavior.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 20

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Dakota
    • Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, 58203
      • USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community sample

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• body mass index 20-30 kg/m2
• free of any major illness or disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• food allergies
• participation in a weight loss diet or exercise program
• pregnancy
• lactation
• metabolic illness or disease (diabetes, renal failure, thyroid illness, hypertension)
• eye illness or disease (narrow angle glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, cataracts)
• psychiatric, neurological or eating disorders (schizophrenia, depression, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, epilepsy, anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa)
• take prescription medications except for oral contraceptives or antihyperlipidemia agents

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Chocolate; Participants will be asked to taste commercially available chocolate varying in sugar, fat and percent cocoa (milk, 70%, 85% and 90% cocoa).	Other: Chocolate; Participants will be asked to taste commercially available chocolate varying in sugar, fat and percent cocoa (milk, 70%, 85% and 90% cocoa).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Retinal dopamine response to oral stimuli	Electroretinograph beta wave amplitude will increase in response to increases in the amount of sugar in the chocolate	30 minutes
Psychoactive Effects Questionnaire in response to oral stimuli	The number of positive responses on the Psychoactive Effects Questionnaire will increase in response to increases in the sugar content of the chocolate	30 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Scores on the Binge Eating Scale will correlate with the retinal dopamine and Psychoactive Effect Questionnaire responses	Individual changes in the retinal dopamine response and the number of positive responses on the Psychoactive Effects Questionnaire will correlate with individual scores on the Binge Eating Scale	30 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
• Collaborators: Drexel University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shanon Casperson, PhD, USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Casperson SL, Lanza L, Albajri E, Nasser JA. Increasing Chocolate's Sugar Content Enhances Its Psychoactive Effects and Intake. Nutrients. 2019 Mar 12;11(3):596. doi: 10.3390/nu11030596.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 17, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 2, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): March 2, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 30, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 30, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): December 6, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 8, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Body Weight; Overweight
• Other Study ID Numbers: GFHNRC217

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No