RCBB Neuroscience Theme Event -- Executive Function Differences - in HIV, Eating Disorders and Across Cultures
In this RCBB Neuroscience Theme event two external speakers, Prof Suzanne Higgs (University of Birmingham) and Dr Ivan Kroupin (The London School of Economics and Political Science, Harvard University), will present their research on executive function differences.
Schedule:
- 1 pm – Introduction (Samantha Brooks, LJMU)
- 1 pm – Prof Suzanne Higgs (University of Birmingham)
Title: The role of cognitive control in eating.
Abstract: it is increasingly acknowledged that cognitive control plays an important role in eating, but little is known about how cognitive processes interface with the metabolic and reward systems that also underpin appetite and food intake. A novel approach we have taken is to examine the mechanisms that underpin therelationship between cognitive symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and eating. We find that both inattentive and impulsive symptoms are associated with uncontrolled eating but there are distinct underlying pathways. Negative mood plays a mediating role for both symptom types but self-reported perception of metabolic state (interoceptive accuracy) is a specific mediator of the association between inattentive symptoms and uncontrolled eating. We have further found that lisdexamfetamine (a stimulant that is used in the treatment of both ADHD and binge eating) improves attention and cognitive control in women with binge eating symptoms as well as reducing food intake and enhancing satiety. Taken together these data suggest that cognitive control processes may be required for eating to be responsive to changes in metabolic state.
Bio: Suzanne Higgs has a degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology from The University of Oxford and a PhD in Psychology from Durham University. She worked as a post-doctoral researcher at The University of Oxford before moving to the University of Birmingham to take up a faculty position where she is currently is Professor in the Psychobiology of Appetite and Head of the School of Psychology. Her research focuses on the psychology of eating and the biological mechanisms that underpin the decisions about what and how much we eat. She is particularly interested in the cognitive processes involved in appetite. She was Editor in Chief of the journal Appetite from 2011-2022 and is Past President of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.
- 2 pm – Dr Ivan Kroupin (The London School of Economics and Political Science, Harvard University)
Title: From Village to Metropolis: A general framework for how historical shifts in the structure of societies may be re-shaping pressures on mental health.
Abstract: This talk will outline a first-principles framework for thinking about how culture has changed across time as our societies have shifted from small, interconnected villages to vast, atomized metropolises. I will focus in particular on how this is changing what demands people experience and, potentially, what mental health challenges they are likely to face. My goal is to zoom out and give some context to how unusual the world we live in today is the standards of most humans throughout history and engage in dialogue with the group about what ramifications this may have at the level of individual wellbeing.
Bio: Ivan Kroupin in a post-doctoral researcher at LSE and Harvard. His main focus is on how the shift from life in subsistence villages to increasingly technology-saturated metropolises is reshaping our minds and our wellbeing, as well as the evolutionary dynamics driving this cultural-cognitive transformation.
If you have any queries, please contact Samantha Brooks.