The motivational value of food is lower during satiety compared to fasting. Dynamic changes in motivational value promote food seeking or meal cessation. In obesity this mechanism might be compromised since obese subjects ingest energy beyond homeostatic needs. Thus, lower adaptation of eating behaviour with respect to changes in motivational value might cause food overconsumption in obesity. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a selective satiation procedure to investigate the relationship between obesity and the size of the behavioural devaluation effect in humans. Lean to obese men (mean age 25.9, range 19–30 years; mean BMI 29.1, range 19.2–45.1 kg/m2) were trained on a free operant paradigm and learned to associate cues with the possibility to win different food rewards by pressing a button. After the initial training phase, one of the rewards was devalued by consumption. Response rates for and wanting of the different rewards were measured pre and post devaluation. Behavioural sensitivity to reward devaluation, measured as the magnitude of difference between pre and post responses, was regressed against BMI. Results indicate that (1) higher BMI compared to lower BMI in men led to an attenuated behavioural adjustment to reward devaluation, and (2) the decrease in motivational value was associated with the decrease in response rate between pre and post. Change in explicitly reported motivational value, however, was not affected by BMI. Thus, we conclude that high BMI in men is associated with lower behavioural adaptation with respect to changes in motivational value of food, possibly resulting in automatic overeating patterns that are hard to control in daily life.

The motivational value of food is lower during satiety compared to fasting. Dynamic changes in motivational value promote food seeking or meal cessation. In obesity this mechanism might be compromised since obese subjects ingest energy beyond homeostatic needs. Thus, lower adaptation of eating behaviour with respect to changes in motivational value might cause food overconsumption in obesity. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a selective satiation procedure to investigate the relationship between obesity and the size of the behavioural devaluation effect in humans. Lean to obese men (mean age 25.9, range 19–30 years; mean BMI 29.1, range 19.2–45.1 kg/m2) were trained on a free operant paradigm and learned to associate cues with the possibility to win different food rewards by pressing a button. After the initial training phase, one of the rewards was devalued by consumption. Response rates for and wanting of the different rewards were measured pre and post devaluation. Behavioural sensitivity to reward devaluation, measured as the magnitude of difference between pre and post responses, was regressed against BMI. Results indicate that (1) higher BMI compared to lower BMI in men led to an attenuated behavioural adjustment to reward devaluation, and (2) the decrease in motivational value was associated with the decrease in response rate between pre and post. Change in explicitly reported motivational value, however, was not affected by BMI. Thus, we conclude that high BMI in men is associated with lower behavioural adaptation with respect to changes in motivational value of food, possibly resulting in automatic overeating patterns that are hard to control in daily life.

Les techniques d’électrophysiologie chez les animaux et d’imagerie fonctionnelle chez l’Homme ont permis d’étudier le contrôle hédonique de la prise alimentaire. Ce contrôle hédonique n’a cependant jamais été exploré chez l’Homme par l’étude des potentiels évoqués gustatifs (PEG), de meilleure résolution temporelle que l’imagerie fonctionnelle. Le premier objectif de la thèse a été de mettre au point une technique fiable et reproductible de recueil des PEG, en regard des aires cérébrales gustatives, en réponse à une stimulation sapide. Le deuxième objectif a été d’étudier les variations des PEG en fonction de la valeur hédonique de la prise alimentaire. Le travail de thèse a permis de mettre au point l’enregistrement des PEG, réalisés chez plus de 100 jeunes sujets sains. Les comparaisons effectuées entre les enregistrements cérébraux obtenus en réponse à l’eau seule ou à l’huile de paraffine, solutions non palatables, et après stimulation par une solution sapide ont permis d’apporter des arguments forts en faveur de l’origine gustative des potentiels évoqués enregistrés. L’analyse des PEG a permis de mettre en évidence des modifications de l’activation cérébrale en fonction du plaisir alimentaire, traduites par des changements de latence ou d’amplitude des PEG. Plusieurs situations connues pour faire varier le plaisir alimentaire ont été étudiées : avant/après repas ; stimulation par des solutions sucrées d’intensités différentes ou de valeurs énergétiques différentes ; stimulation par des acides gras. Des PEG en réponse aux acides gras à longue chaine (acides linoléiques) ont été enregistrés par ce biais, renforçant l’hypothèse du «gras» en tant que sixième saveur primaire. / Hedonic control of food intake has been studied using neurophysiological investigations in animals and functional imaging in humans. Gustatory evoked potentials (GEPs), a higher time resolution technique than functional imaging, have never been used for this purpose. The first aim of this thesis was to establish a reliable recording of GEPs in humans, in response to a sapid stimulus. The second aim was to determine the GEPs modifications according to the hedonic value of food intake. GEPs recording was performed in response to an intermittent stimulation of a sapid solution in more than 100 young healthy subjects. The comparisons between cerebral recordings in response to water or paraffin oil, non palatable solutions, and in response to sapid solutions (sucrose, sodium chlorure and fatty acids) allow us to advance strong arguments for the gustative nature of the recorded evoked potentials. GEPs analysis underlined changes in cerebral activation according to the hedonic value of the stimulus. These changes in cerebral activation were highlighted by modifications of GEPs latency or amplitude. Several physiological situations, marked by different pleasantness of food stimulation, were studied: before/after food intake, stimulation by sweet solutions with different concentrations or different caloric contents, stimulation by fatty acids. Moreover, GEPs in response to long chain fatty acids (linoleic acids) were recorded, reinforcing the hypothesis that fatty acids could be the sixth primary flavor.