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
Dana M. Small, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology
Director, Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center
Yale School of Medicine
Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar
Integrating Internal and External Nutrient Sensing and Use
Date: March 21, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
In-person: Room G101 A/B, 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
Virtual: Watch via Zoom
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.
You May Also Be Interested In...
-
Home ItemSudden Cardiac Arrest in the Young: The Case of ARVC , home
Oct. 18, 2024, 11:00 a.m. | Mario Delmar, M.D., Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Medicine, Patricia and Robert Martinsen Professor of Cardiology, Leon H Charney Division of Cardiology, New York University School of Medicine | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar, Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Vascular and Heart Research
-
Home ItemHarnessing Interoception: Innovative Approaches for Psychiatric Assessment and Intervention , home
Oct. 25, 2024, 11:00 a.m. | Sahib Khalsa, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Louis Jolyon West Innovation Chair, Director of Anxiety Disorders Research, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles| Co-Sponsored by the Center for Health Behaviors Research and the Addiction Recovery Research Center, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
-
Home ItemClinical Applications of Cancer Genetics , home
Nov. 21, 2024, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Luis Diaz, Jr., M.D., Head, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Member, National Academy of Medicine | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
-
Home ItemA Ribocentric View of Muscle Proteostasis in Health and Disease: Novel Mechanisms Potential Therapeutic Opportunities , home
Nov. 22, 2024, 11:00 a.m. | Gustavo A. Nader, Ph.D., FAPS, Professor, College of Health and Human Development; Chair, Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology; Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences; The Pennsylvania State University | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Exercise Medicine Research
-
Home ItemHuman Laboratory Evaluation of Cannabis Products , home
Dec. 13, 2024, 11:00 a.m. | Ryan Vandrey, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Health Behaviors Research and the Addiction Recovery Research Center
-
Home ItemMechanics of Convective Cell Motion , home
Jan. 10, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Michael Murrell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Yale University | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center – Roanoke