Skip to main content

Correcting the reward imbalance in binge eating: A pilot randomized trial of reward re-training treatment.

Author
Abstract
:

Behavioral treatments for psychological disorders characterized by reward-driven maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance use disorder, eating disorders, behavioral addictions) primarily seek to reduce hyper-reward response to disorder-specific stimuli. Suboptimal outcomes for these treatments highlight the need to also target hypo-reward response to day-to-day life activities. The present study sought to conduct an initial test of a novel behavioral treatment, Reward Re-Training (RRT) to target hyper- and hypo-reward response in individuals with binge eating. Individuals with binge eating (N = 23) were randomly assigned to either 10 weeks of outpatient, group-based RRT treatment or a waitlist control. RRT was found to be feasible and acceptable, demonstrated large impacts on both hypo- and hyper-reward response (measured by self-report (pre-to post-treatment η range 0.38-0.58) and neural activation via fMRI), and was efficacious in reducing eating disorder pathology (η range 0.40-0.64, including binge eating, η = 0.64) compared to waitlist control (η range 0.00-0.04). This pilot data provides preliminary support for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a novel treatment targeting reward imbalance for individuals with binge eating. Future evaluations of RRT may benefit from an active treatment comparison condition and a follow-up assessment to examine persistence of positive outcomes.

Year of Publication
:
2022
Journal
:
Appetite
Volume
:
176
Number of Pages
:
106103
Date Published
:
2022
ISSN Number
:
0195-6663
URL
:
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0195-6663(22)00194-5
DOI
:
10.1016/j.appet.2022.106103
Short Title
:
Appetite
Download citation