Brain electrical activity during food presentation in obese binge-eating women.

Binge-eating (BE) subjects have shown altered brain activity at frontal regions during food presentation. The aim of this study was to examine the frontal brain electrical activity in obese BE women (n = 12) and in obese women without BE (non-BE, n = 13). Brain electrical activity was measured using a quantitative electroencephalography during a resting state (eyes-closed) and when the subjects focused (eyes-open) their attention on a picture of a landscape (control experiment) or on a meal (food experiment). The BE showed greater frontal beta activity (14-20 Hz) than the non-BE in both the eyes-closed (on average 52%) and the eyes-open situations and independently of the stimulus (control experiment: 57% and food experiment: 71%). No significant differences between the groups were found in alpha, delta or theta amplitudes. Increased beta activity correlated positively with the disinhibition factor of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Thus, our results suggest that elevated frontal beta activity may be a marker of dysfunctional disinhibition-inhibition mechanism, which could make the obese BE women more vulnerable or sensitive to food and the environmental cues.