The impact of exercise on food-related inhibitory control- do calories, time of day, and BMI matter? Evidence from an event-related potential (ERP) study.

A growing body of research suggests exercise improves inhibitory control functions. We tested if exercise-related inhibitory control benefits extend to food-related inhibitory control and differ by calorie content, time of day, and weight status. One hundred thirty-eight individuals were pseudo-randomly assigned to a morning or evening group. Each subject participated in two lab sessions where they completed questionnaires (rest session) or walked on a treadmill at 3.8mph (exercise session) for 45 min. After each session, participants completed both a high-calorie and low-calorie go/no-go task while N2 and P3 event-related potentials (ERP), both neural indicators of inhibitory control, were measured. Participants also rated food images for valence and arousal. While N2 and P3 difference amplitudes were larger to high-calorie than low-calorie foods, neither exercise nor time of day affected results. Individuals had faster response times after exercise without decreases in accuracy. Arousal and valence for high-calorie foods were lower after exercise and lower for all foods after morning compared to evening exercise. In a subset of individuals with obesity and normal-weight individuals, individuals with obesity had larger N2 difference amplitudes after morning exercise, while normal-weight individuals had larger P3 difference amplitudes to high-calorie foods after exercise. Results suggest moderate exercise did not affect food-related inhibitory control generally, although morning exercise may be beneficial in improving early recruitment of food-related inhibitory control in individuals with obesity. Moderate exercise, particularly in the morning, may also help manage increased attention allocated to food.

Testing food-related inhibitory control to high- and low-calorie food stimuli: Electrophysiological responses to high-calorie food stimuli predict calorie and carbohydrate intake.

Maintaining a healthy diet has important implications for physical and mental health. One factor that may influence diet and food consumption is inhibitory control-the ability to withhold a dominant response in order to correctly respond to environmental demands. We examined how N2 amplitude, an ERP that reflects inhibitory control processes, differed toward high- and low-calorie food stimuli and related to food intake. A total of 159 participants (81 female; M age = 23.5 years; SD = 7.6) completed two food-based go/no-go tasks (one with high-calorie and one with low-calorie food pictures as no-go stimuli) while N2 amplitude was recorded. Participants recorded food intake using the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Recall system. Inhibiting responses toward high-calorie stimuli elicited a larger (i.e., more negative) no-go N2 amplitude; inhibiting responses toward low-calorie stimuli elicited a smaller no-go N2 amplitude. Participants were more accurate during the high-calorie than low-calorie task, but took longer to respond on go trials toward high-calorie rather than low-calorie stimuli. When controlling for age, gender, and BMI, larger high-calorie N2 difference amplitude predicted lower caloric intake (ß = 0.17); low-calorie N2 difference amplitude was not related to caloric intake (ß = -0.03). Exploratory analyses revealed larger high-calorie N2 difference amplitude predicted carbohydrate intake (ß = 0.22), but not protein (ß = 0.08) or fat (ß = 0.11) intake. Results suggest that withholding responses from high-calorie foods requires increased recruitment of inhibitory control processes, which may be necessary to regulate food consumption, particularly for foods high in calories and carbohydrates.

A twenty-year follow-up survey of medical emergency education in U.S. dental schools.

This article reports the results of a 2003 survey of medical emergency education taught in U.S. dental schools and compares the results to findings from surveys conducted in 1983 and 1992. A questionnaire was sent to the deans of all U.S. dental schools, requesting completion of the survey by the faculty member responsible for medical emergency education. Forty-three of fifty-four U.S. dental schools responded, and the data were compared to similar surveys conducted in 1983 and 1992. Special attention was given to changes in technology (pulse oximetry and automated external defibrillators), teaching methods (audiovisual, role-playing, and simulation), and subject matter (CPR, venipuncture, and endotracheal intubation) that affect medical emergency education. The study found a large disparity in number of hours dedicated to medical emergency training among dental schools. Surprisingly, CPR certification/recertification for both students and faculty was not provided at three of the reporting U.S. dental schools. Most schools included venipuncture and endotracheal intubation in their curriculum. Routine monitoring of vital signs remained fairly consistent over the past twenty years with a slight dip in the 1992 survey. A standardization of medical emergency education needs to take place to ensure an appropriate level of training for all dental students.