Integration of Sensory, Metabolic and Neural Signals in the Determination of Food Choices and How Dysregulation of These Systems Contributes to Obesity, Diabetes and Cognitive Impairment

About this Seminar

Optimal decision making in a changing environment requires evidence accumulation. Typically, this evidence is amassed from the external environment. Within this framework unconditioned rewards are encapsulated within the outcome of an action, for example, the consumption of the food and the oral sensation simultaneously evoked. Accordingly, conventional learning models typically view rewards as static, measurable external entities, such as the quantity of juice given to an animal or the points allocated to a human in an experiment. This view overlooks the intricate and dynamic nature of biological processes and recent advances in the interoceptive sciences. For example, it is now well recognized that subliminal post-oral signals generated during nutrient digestion drive food reinforcement. Reward is therefore not inherent to the stimulus but rather to the organism. However, in order to optimize prospective and adaptive behavior, internal rewards must be inferred to environmental stimuli serving as proxy reward signals (e.g., the sight of a ripe strawberry on a vine). In this talk evidence will be presented from work in humans linking energy sensing and utilization with reinforcement learning, decision-making, and active valuation of external proxy reward signals. Dr. Small will also discuss the independence of these subliminal operations from conscious sensations such as liking and pleasure.

Additional Details

This is a free event hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and co-sponsored by the institute's Center for Health Behaviors Research and the Addiction Recovery Research Center. The Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series, which runs annually from September to May, has featured leading biomedical researchers from throughout the country since the program began in 2012. The lectures are also open to all members of the Virginia Tech community including graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, and staff, as well as the public.

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