Processing level of meat modulates functional brain network connectivity during visual evaluation

The human brain rapidly interprets visual food cues to inform evaluation and decision making, yet its response to natural versus processed foods remains unclear. This study was an electroencephalographic examination of how meat processing affects brain network interactions during visual evaluation. Unprocessed meat images, characterized by irregular textures and natural details, evoked stronger activation in the ventral visual areas and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, suggesting enhanced sensory and value-based processing. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that processed meat images elicited increased connectivity among the visual, salience, and default mode networks, suggesting engagement of internally oriented perceptual and evaluative circuits. Conversely, unprocessed meat images induced broader connectivity across the visual, dorsal attention, salience, control, and limbic networks, reflecting increased attentional orienting, perceptual integration, and reward-related processing. This suggests that food naturalness modulates large-scale brain network dynamics, contributing to a neurocognitive framework for understanding how processing influences food perception and valuation.