Neural Correlates Underlying General and Food-Related Working Memory in Females with Overweight/Obesity

TL;DR

This study explores how overweight and obese females process general and food-related working memory tasks, finding neural differences linked to cognitive effort and food cue responses.

Contribution

The study reveals distinct neural correlates in overweight/obese individuals during general and food-specific working memory tasks, highlighting cognitive control and reward salience interactions.

Findings

Overweight/obese participants showed poorer general working memory performance and reduced theta power during non-target trials.

Overweight/obese individuals exhibited heightened P2 and LPC amplitudes in response to high-calorie food stimuli.

Lower alpha power in overweight/obese participants during high-calorie non-target trials suggests increased cognitive effort.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Prior research suggest that poor working memory significantly contributes to the growth of overweight and obesity. This study investigated the behavioral and neural aspects of general and food-specific working memory in females with overweight or obesity (OW/OB). Method: A total of 54 female participants, with 26 in the OW/OB group and 28 in the normal-weight (NW) group, completed a general and a food-related two-back task while an EEG was recorded. Results: In the general task, the OW/OB group showed significantly poorer performance (higher IES) than the NW group (p = 0.018, η2 = 0.10), with reduced theta power during non-target trials (p = 0.040, η2 = 0.08). No group differences were found for P2, N2, or P3 amplitudes. In the food-related task, significant group × stimulus interactions were observed. The OW/OB group showed significantly higher P2 amplitudes in high-calorie (HC) versus low-calorie (LC) food conditions (p = 0.005, η2 = 0.15). LPC amplitudes were greater in the OW/OB group for HC targets (p = 0.036, η2 = 0.09). Alpha power was significantly lower in OW/OB compared to NW in HC non-targets (p = 0.030, η2 = 0.09), suggesting a greater cognitive effort. Conclusions: These findings indicate that individuals with OW/OB exhibit deficits in general working memory and heightened neural responses to high-calorie food cues, particularly during non-target inhibition. The results suggest an interaction between reward salience and cognitive control mechanisms in obesity.

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