EEG measures of attention toward food-related stimuli vary with food neophobia

Humans differ strongly in their willingness to try novel foods. Hesitance new foods is referred as food neophobia. Understanding neophobia important, it can be a significant barrier adopt healthy, balanced or plant-based diet. We here use electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings obtain insight the early attentional processes towards stimuli function of 43 Dutch participants completed scale after which they were presented with pictures familiar and unfamiliar 15-minute movie about origin production an food. extracted two EEG-based metrics attention: late positive potential (LPP) amplitude response pictures, inter-subject correlations (ISC-EEG) during movie. The latter metric, based on similarities EEG over time between individuals who are same stimulus, suitable for examining attention continuous such movies. Additionally, asked taste soups, rate soups valence arousal. ISC-EEG LPP increased sip size decreased neophobia, not only but also pictures. Self-reported emotional experience was affected by ones. conclude that associated processing immediate implicit behavior, all stimuli. This indicates food-related high importance neophobic self-reported emotion does capture entire results that, unlike name suggest, affect foods, any regardless familiarity.