Relationships Among the Brain, the Digestive System, and Eating Behavior : Workshop Summary

On July 9-10, 2014, the Institute of Medicine's Food Forum hosted a public workshop to explore emerging and rapidly developing research on relationships among the brain, the digestive system, and eating behavior.

Drawing on expertise from the fields of nutrition and food science, animal and human physiology and behavior, and psychology and psychiatry as well as related fields, the purpose of the workshop was to (1) review current knowledge on the relationship between the brain and eating behavior, explore the interaction between the brain and the digestive system, and consider what is known about the brain's role in eating patterns and consumer choice; (2) evaluate current methods used to determine the impact of food on brain activity and eating behavior; and (3) identify gaps in knowledge and articulate a theoretical framework for future research.

Relationships among the Brain, the Digestive System, and Eating Behavior summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop. Table of ContentsFront Matter1 Introduction2 Interaction Between the Brain and the Digestive System3 Assessing the Science Behind Methodologies Being Used toCharacterize Food as Addictive4 Future Directions: Is the Addiction Model for Drugs and AlcoholAppropriate for Food?5 Integrating the EvidenceReferencesAppendix A: Abbreviations and AcronymsAppendix B: Workshop AgendaAppendix C: Speaker Biographical Sketches