Motives for eating tasty foods associated with binge-eating. Results from a student and a weight-loss seeking population.

The aim of this study was to use the Palatable Eating Motives Scale (PEMS) to determine if and what motives for eating tasty foods (e.g., junk food, fast food, and desserts) are associated with binge-eating in two diverse populations. BMI and scores on the PEMS, Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), and Binge-eating Scale (BES) were obtained from 247 undergraduates at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and 249 weight-loss seeking patients at the UAB EatRight program. Regression analyses revealed that eating tasty foods to forget worries and problems and help alleviate negative feelings (i.e., the 4-item Coping motive) was associated with binge-eating independently of any variance in BES scores due to sex, age, ethnicity, BMI, other PEMS motives, and YFAS scores in both students (R² = .57) and patients (R² = .55). Coping also was associated with higher BMI in students (p < 0.01), and in patients despite their truncated BMI range (p < 0.05). Among students, the motives Conformity and Reward Enhancement were also independently associated with binge-eating. For this younger sample with a greater range of BES scores, eating for these motives, but not for Social ones, may indicate early maladaptive eating habits that could later develop into disorders characterized by binge-eating if predisposing factors are present. Thus, identifying one's tasty food motive or motives can potentially be used to thwart the development of BED and obesity, especially if the motive is Coping. Identifying one's PEMS motives should also help personalize conventional treatments for binge-eating and obesity toward improved outcomes.

The mucosal inflammatory response to non-typhoidal Salmonella in the intestine is blunted by IL-10 during concurrent malaria parasite infection.

Coinfection can markedly alter the response to a pathogen, thereby changing its clinical presentation. For example, non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serotypes are associated with gastroenteritis in immunocompetent individuals. In contrast, individuals with severe pediatric malaria can develop bacteremic infections with NTS, during which symptoms of gastroenteritis are commonly absent. Here we report that, in both a ligated ileal loop model and a mouse colitis model, malaria parasites caused a global suppression of gut inflammatory responses and blunted the neutrophil influx that is characteristic of NTS infection. Further, malaria parasite infection led to increased recovery of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium from the draining mesenteric lymph node (MLN) of mice. In the mouse colitis model, blunted intestinal inflammation during NTS infection was independent of anemia but instead required parasite-induced synthesis of interleukin (IL)-10. Blocking of IL-10 in coinfected mice reduced dissemination of S. Typhimurium to the MLN, suggesting that induction of IL-10 contributes to development of disseminated infection. Thus IL-10 produced during the immune response to malaria in this model contributes to suppression of mucosal inflammatory responses to invasive NTS, which may contribute to differences in the clinical presentation of NTS infection in the setting of malaria.

Latent information in fluency lists predicts functional decline in persons at risk for Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVE: We constructed random forest classifiers employing either the traditional method of scoring semantic fluency word lists or new methods. These classifiers were then compared in terms of their ability to diagnose Alzheimer disease (AD) or to prognosticate among individuals along the continuum from cognitively normal (CN) through mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD. METHOD: Semantic fluency lists from 44 cognitively normal elderly individuals, 80 MCI patients, and 41 AD patients were transcribed into electronic text files and scored by four methods: traditional raw scores, clustering and switching scores, "generalized" versions of clustering and switching, and a method based on independent components analysis (ICA). Random forest classifiers based on raw scores were compared to "augmented" classifiers that incorporated newer scoring methods. Outcome variables included AD diagnosis at baseline, MCI conversion, increase in Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB) score, or decrease in Financial Capacity Instrument (FCI) score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for each classifier and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. We compared AUC between raw and augmented classifiers using Delong's test and assessed validity and reliability of the augmented classifier. RESULTS: Augmented classifiers outperformed classifiers based on raw scores for the outcome measures AD diagnosis (AUC .97 vs. .95), MCI conversion (AUC .91 vs. .77), CDR-SOB increase (AUC .90 vs. .79), and FCI decrease (AUC .89 vs. .72). Measures of validity and stability over time support the use of the method. CONCLUSION: Latent information in semantic fluency word lists is useful for predicting cognitive and functional decline among elderly individuals at increased risk for developing AD. Modern machine learning methods may incorporate latent information to enhance the diagnostic value of semantic fluency raw scores. These methods could yield information valuable for patient care and clinical trial design with a relatively small investment of time and money.

Lexical factors and cerebral regions influencing verbal fluency performance in MCI.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate assumptions regarding semantic (noun), verb, and letter fluency in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD) using novel techniques for measuring word similarity in fluency lists and a region of interest (ROI) analysis of gray matter correlates. METHOD: Fifty-eight individuals with normal cognition (NC, n=25), MCI (n=23), or AD (n=10) underwent neuropsychological tests, including 10 verbal fluency tasks (three letter tasks [F, A, S], six noun categories [animals, water creatures, fruits and vegetables, tools, vehicles, boats], and verbs). All pairs of words generated by each participant on each task were compared in terms of semantic (meaning), orthographic (spelling), and phonemic (pronunciation) similarity. We used mixed-effects logistic regression to determine which lexical factors were predictive of word adjacency within the lists. Associations between each fluency raw score and gray matter volumes in sixteen ROIs were identified by means of multiple linear regression. We evaluated causal models for both types of analyses to specify the contributions of diagnosis and various mediator variables to the outcomes of word adjacency and fluency raw score. RESULTS: Semantic similarity between words emerged as the strongest predictor of word adjacency for all fluency tasks, including the letter fluency tasks. Semantic similarity mediated the effect of cognitive impairment on word adjacency only for three fluency tasks employing a biological cue. Orthographic similarity was predictive of word adjacency for the A and S tasks, while phonemic similarity was predictive only for the S task and one semantic task (vehicles). The ROI analysis revealed different patterns of correlations among the various fluency tasks, with the most common associations in the right lower temporal and bilateral dorsal frontal regions. Following correction with gray matter volumes from the opposite hemisphere, significant associations persisted for animals, vehicles, and a composite nouns score in the left inferior frontal gyrus, but for letter A, letter S, and a composite FAS score in the right inferior frontal gyrus. These regressions also revealed a lateralized association of the left subcortical nuclei with all letter fluency scores and fruits and vegetables fluency, and an association of the right lower temporal ROI with letter A, FAS, and verb fluency. Gray matter volume in several bihemispheric ROIs (left dorsal frontal, right lower temporal, right occipital, and bilateral mesial temporal) mediated the relationship between cognitive impairment and fluency for fruits and vegetables. Gray matter volume in the right lower temporal ROI mediated the relationship between cognitive impairment and five fluency raw scores (animals, fruits and vegetables, tools, verbs, and the composite nouns score). CONCLUSION: Semantic memory exerts the strongest influence on word adjacency in letter fluency as well as semantic verbal fluency tasks. Orthography is a stronger influence than pronunciation. All types of fluency task raw scores (letter, noun, and verb) correlate with cerebral regions known to support verbal or nonverbal semantic memory. The findings emphasize the contribution of right hemisphere regions to fluency task performance, particularly for verb and letter fluency. The relationship between diagnosis and semantic fluency performance is mediated by semantic similarity of words and by gray matter volume in the right lower temporal region.

Profiling motives behind hedonic eating. Preliminary validation of the Palatable Eating Motives Scale.

The purpose of this study was to validate a new scale designed to measure individual motives for eating tasty foods and determine if any specific motive(s) are associated with obesity. The "Palatable Eating Motives Scale" (PEMS) is a self-report measure adapted from the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised (DMQ-R). N=150 racially-diverse college students (mean age: 24.4, BMI: 16-51kg/m(2)) were administered the PEMS along with the Binge-Eating Scale (BES) and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) to test for convergent and incremental validity and the Sensitivity to Punishment and Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) for discriminant validity. The PEMS identified four motives for eating tasty food, the same ones found with the DMQ-R for alcohol intake: Social, Conformity, Enhancement, and Coping motives. The scales had good convergent validity with BES and YFAS scores but discriminated from the broader motivational constructs of inhibition and activation measured by the SPSRQ. Of the PEMS motives, Coping (eating tasty food to deal with problems and negative feelings) accounted for unique variance in BMI, and added to variance in BMI contributed by BES scores, showing incremental validity. YFAS scores did not contribute to BMI after controlling for binge-eating. Coping subscale scores were also significantly higher (p<0.001) among the severely obese (BMI>40). Motives behind palatable food intake are not homogenous and should be considered in personalized weight-loss strategies in future studies. In normal weight individuals, knowing one's dominant motive for eating tasty foods may help promote healthier food choices in times and places where they are most vulnerable to do otherwise.

Prefrontal systems involvement in binge eating.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether severity of binge eating is associated with dysfunction in behaviors mediated by the three main areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). METHODS: One hundred fifty-one adults (mean BMI=49.50) were classified into three groups based on the presence and severity of binge eating behaviors: Binge Eating Disorder (BED) group (N=22), Binge Eating Prone (BEP) group (N=47), and non-Eating Disorder (non-ED) group (N=82). Participants completed the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), a widely used measure of neurobehavioral traits associated with the three primary regions of the PFC corresponding with the behavioral traits of apathy, disinhibition, and executive dysfunction. RESULTS: The BED and BEP groups scored significantly higher than the non-ED group on the three FrSBe subscales, as well as the FrSBe Total score. There were no significant correlations between the FrSBe and participant BMI. DISCUSSION: As expected, individuals who engaged in binge eating endorsed greater PFC dysfunction than those who did not binge eat. These results provide a complement to studies utilizing neuroimaging and neuropsychological methodologies and further support for the role of prefrontal systems in the regulation of eating behavior.

Severity of bulimic symptoms is the best predictor of interference on an emotional Stroop paradigm.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the current study was to further investigate whether an emotional Stroop effect exists among patients with bulimia nervosa. METHOD: Performances of 30 female controls, 30 females with subclinical eating disordered symptoms, and 30 females diagnosed with bulimia nervosa were compared on an emotional Stroop color naming task using stimuli separated into three areas of concern (eating, weight, and shape words). RESULTS: Results indicated that overall the three groups differed significantly on the emotional Stroop task, with the interference latency for disorder salient words progressively increasing as the severity of bulimic symptoms increased. Severity of bulimic symptoms was the best predictor of interference on the emotional Stroop paradigm. DISCUSSION: Results provide further evidence that interference on the emotional Stroop is uniquely related to the symptoms of bulimia nervosa and bear credence to the possibility of its use as an additional tool in the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.

The effect of importance level, delay, and rate of forgetting on prose recall in multiple sclerosis.

Memory deficits are frequently seen in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The focus of this study was to examine semantic encoding and the rate of forgetting in MS patients. The prose passages of the Wechsler Memory Scale Logical Memory subtest were used to examine MS patients' semantic sensitivity to the idea units of a story. The stories were divided into high, medium, and low idea units, reflecting their overall importance to the meaning of the story. MS patients recalled fewer idea units than controls, but both groups favored the main ideas relative to the nonessential details at both the immediate and delayed recall of the passages. Likewise, MS patients forgot information at a much faster rate than controls. Implications of this faster forgetting rate in MS patients are discussed from an applied setting.