Reward Processing in Binge Eating and Harmful Drinking: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Binge eating and harmful drinking frequently co-occur, exacerbating negative health outcomes.
• Reward processing alterations are implicated in both binge eating and harmful drinking individually.
• Limited understanding exists regarding shared and unique reward processing mechanisms in co-occurring binge eating and harmful drinking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and consolidate knowledge on shared and unique reward processes associated with binge eating and harmful drinking.
• To organize findings by reward construct and assessment method to clarify the relationship between reward processing and these behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of empirical articles assessing binge eating, harmful drinking, and reward processing.
• Pre-registered review with publicly available search, screening, quality assessment, and data extraction files.
• Summarized and compared relevant findings from 25 included articles.

Main Results:

• Higher self-reported reward anticipation (general, food, and alcohol-specific) correlated with binge eating and harmful drinking, both co-occurring and separate.
• Prolonged engagement in binge eating or harmful drinking was associated with increased habit-based reward learning.
• Findings were organized by reward construct (e.g., anticipation, learning) and assessment method.

Conclusions:

• Elevated anticipatory reward responsiveness and altered reward learning may be clinically relevant targets for interventions.
• Assessment, monitoring, and management of these reward processing alterations could benefit individuals with binge eating and harmful drinking.
• Further research is needed with diverse samples and reward types to elucidate specific reward processing alterations.