Cognitive and hormonal regulation of appetite for food presented in the olfactory and visual modalities

The ability to regulate appetite is essential to avoid food over-consumption. The desire for a particular food can be triggered by its odor before it is even seen. Using fMRI, we identify the neural systems modulated by cognitive regulation when experiencing appetizing food stimuli presented in both olfactory and visual modalities, while being hungry. Regulatory instruction modulated bids for food items and inhalation patterns. Distinct brain regions were observed for up and down appetite-regulation, respectively the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and dorsolateral PFC. Food valuation engaged the ventromedial PFC and bilateral striatum. Furthermore, we identified a neurobiological marker for successful appetite upregulation. Individuals with higher blood levels of ghrelin were better at exercising up-regulation, and engaged the dmPFC more. These findings characterize the neural circuitry regulating food consumption within the healthy population and highlight how cognitive regulation modulates olfactomotor measures of olfaction.