A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study on the Differentiation of the Orbitofrontal Cortex Response to Sweet Stimuli

Activitas Nervosa Superior Rediviva. 2025. Vol. 67. No. 3. P. 107–115.

Alexey Gorin, Sarah Anderson, Andreev S., Andrey Timashkov, Safonova A., Zangieva S., Kholodova A., Zinchenko O.

OBJECTIVES: The orbitofrontal cortex in humans is a significant neural structure involved in the representation of taste, flavor, and food reward. The principal function attributed to the orbitofrontal cortex in relation to taste perception is the encoding of emotive value and the computation of perceived pleasantness. However, prior research has not specifi- cally addressed the elucidation of the underlying mechanism behind the distinct response of the orbitofrontal cortex to varying amounts of a single stimulus, such as glucose. METHODS: A pilot functional near-infrared spectroscopy study was done to examine the potential inverse U-shaped activation pattern of the orbitofrontal cortex in response to increasing concentrations of fructose, hence indicating a hedonic response. Alterna- tively, the study aimed to determine if the orbitofrontal cortex activation would exhibit a proportionate rise according to the concentration of the fructose stimulus.

RESULTS: The preliminary findings of our study indicate a clear correlation between the metabolic activity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex and the subjective perception of sweetness in response to a stimulus.
CONCLUSION: No association was found between a subjective perception of taste pleasant- ness and the extent of hemodynamic reactions in the orbitofrontal cortex.

Keywords: вознаграждение, пища, Food, reward, БИК-спектроскопия, fNIRS

Publication based on the results of: Нейроэкономика потребительского поведения (2023)