The impact of energy-dense food consumption on brain responses to alcohol rewards

Overconsumption of alcohol and energy-dense, palatable foods commonly co-occur, and are both characterised by overlapping impairments in reward circuitry function. Elevated consumption of energy-dense foods may increase risk of alcohol binging through sensitising brain responsivity to alcohol rewards, thereby increasing the motivating effects of alcohol consumption. However, the acute effects of dietary intake on brain responses to alcohol in humans remains unclear. Therefore, the current study aimed to understand how intake of energy-dense foods may prime proximate brain responses to alcohol rewards. Thirty-four healthy adults completed a single test session where they were randomly allocated to receive either a high energy (N = 18) or lower energy (N = 16) breakfast prior to completing the Beer Incentive Delay (BID) task, which measures blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to the anticipation, outcome notification, and consumption of beer rewards. The BID elicited hypothesized activation within reward networks during the anticipation and receipt of beer compared to the control beverage. However, no group activation differences were found. Self-report levels of saturated-fat intake were associated with attenuated putamen response during outcome notification of beer rewards in both groups. Behaviourally, high energy breakfast consumption was associated with faster responding to beer rewards. These findings suggest the intake of high fat foods may be linked to acute alterations in alcohol sensitivity, highlighting a potential mechanism explaining elevated risk of elevated alcohol consumption in those who regularly consume palatable, energy-dense foods.