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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Progressive-ratio Responding for Palatable High-fat and High-sugar Food in Mice

Progressive-ratio Responding for Palatable High-fat and High-sugar Food in Mice

Published on: May 3, 2012

Reinforcement pathology and obesity.

Katelyn A Carr¹, Tinuke Oluyomi Daniel, Henry Lin

¹Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14214-3000, USA.

Current Drug Abuse Reviews

|October 18, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Obesity stems from excessive food choices driven by high motivation and low impulse control, a concept called reinforcement pathology. This framework offers new insights for effective obesity treatment strategies.

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Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

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Published on: June 5, 2016

Area of Science:

Behavioral neuroscience
Obesity research
Addiction studies

Background:

Obesity results from a positive energy balance, where energy intake exceeds needs.
Food choices over time, influenced by motivation and executive functions, contribute to excess energy intake.
Dysregulation in these processes can lead to problematic eating behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

To apply the concept of reinforcement pathology to understanding obesity.
To explore the implications of reinforcement pathology for developing obesity treatments.
To link motivational and executive function deficits in obesity to those seen in addiction.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on reinforcement pathology, obesity, and addiction.
Conceptual analysis linking motivational and executive function processes.
Discussion of treatment implications based on the reinforcement pathology model.

Main Results:

Reinforcement pathology, characterized by excessive motivation to eat and poor impulse control, is proposed as a key mechanism in obesity.
Similarities exist between the motivational and executive function deficits in obesity and those observed in drug dependence.
The reinforcement pathology framework provides a novel perspective on the etiology of obesity.

Conclusions:

Understanding obesity through the lens of reinforcement pathology can inform new therapeutic strategies.
Targeting motivational and executive function deficits may be crucial for effective obesity treatment.
This approach highlights the overlap between the neurobiology of eating and addiction.