Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB)

 

SSIB Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior


The Evolution of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior

Abstract
This review summarizes the formation of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), highlighting the many people whose commitment and perseverance brought together a wide range of disciplines for the common goal of investigating ingestive behavior and providing communication via scientific meetings. The goals and philosophy of the Society today are described along with the challenges it will face in the future. It concludes with the important message that excellence in science, combined with commitment to, and participation from, younger investigators, will ensure its continued success. The SSIB was officially incorporated on March 30, 1987 to serve a unique niche within the biological and behavioral sciences. Its initial vision was to serve as the “leading scientific organization for the study of ingestive behavior”. This mission continues to drive the philosophy of the Society which currently boasts over 350 members representing 30 different countries. The SSIB melded scientific disciplines that included physiological and psychological aspects of food and fluid intake, as well as taste and olfaction. Prior to its creation, scientists from each of these disciplines met at several key conferences, most notably The International Conference on the Physiology of Food and Fluid Intake, a now defunct satellite of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, and The Eastern Psychological Association. From these and other smaller conferences came the idea of forming a society that integrated research from the biological, psychological and social aspects of food and fluid intake in both animals and humans. While this emphasis of the Society remains today, changing scientific priorities and interests continue to shape and influence the direction of the Society. Since its first meeting held at Princeton University in NJ in 1992, the annual meeting has become a major means of disseminating cutting-edge information on current research in the field of ingestive behavior. The record of its programs provides a valuable window into the workings of what was then a new scientific discipline and its evolution over time which may be useful, not only to members of the SSIB, but also to students of the history of science.

Gut Feelings: Interoceptive Contributions to Obesity and Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction

Meeting Objectives
Highlight current knowledge, gaps, and opportunities in interoception research relevant to obesity and DGBIs.
Explore potential physiological mechanisms that lead to or exacerbate these disorders, such as stress.
Emphasize technical challenges and opportunities for measuring and modulating gastrointestinal interoception.
Delve into underlying mechanisms of altered interoceptive processing in obesity and DGBIs that may lead to the development of new therapeutic targets.
Background
Interoception is the process through which the nervous system senses and interprets signals regarding the inner physiological state of the body (e.g., hunger, satiety) that are used to motivate behavior to meet physical needs for homeostasis (e.g., food intake, meal termination). The emerging progress in research on interoception, as emphasized and supported by recent NIH-sponsored workshops and initiatives, reflects the critical importance of body-brain interactions for health and disease. The current workshop focuses on the role of interoceptive processes in obesity and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs) (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, etc.). A mechanistic understanding of interoceptive sensations of hunger and satiety is fundamental and transformative for obesity research given the unprecedented success of nutrient-stimulated hormone pharmacotherapies that work by altering these sensations to allow for reduced caloric intake and weight loss. In addition, the contribution of gastrointestinal interoceptive dysfunction in DGBIs is an under-studied area of investigation that would benefit from additional exploration. The overall goal of this workshop is to highlight research needs and opportunities for furthering the understanding of interoceptive processes relevant to obesity and DGBIs.




In 1997, the New York Times carried a full-page obituary [1] of one Dr. Stanley Schachter, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Columbia University. The obituary emphasizes that Schachter’s influence was profound and highlights his unique ability to gain important scientific insights from everyday experiences and place those experiences under the microscope of his science. In fact, the American Psychological Association named him as the 7th most influential psychologist of the 20th century [2].

The central thesis of the course built on Schachter’s idea [4] that emotion consists of both a physiological component (i.e., ‘autonomic arousal’) and a cognitive labeling of that component (e.g., as ‘angry’). By this way of thinking, if an external stimulus alters one’s cognitions, even in the face of arousal, one’s emotional experience might change in turn. If external and cognitive factors can influence the emotional experience of physiological arousal, could cues in the environment alter the experience of other physiologic phenomena, such as those associated with hunger? The answer appears to be yes, 

In his classic paper published in Science in 1968 [5], Schachter reviews the current state of the literature and reports three key tests of whether internal and external cues differentially affect eating behavior in normal weight and obese subjects. Taken together, his findings suggest that when compared to non-obese subjects, the eating behavior of obese subjects is more affected by environmental cues (e.g., external time cues, presence of food) than physiological (e.g., hunger, emotional arousal, internal time cues). 

Many of his students including, for example, Peter Herman, Judith Rodin, Richard Nisbett, Lee Ross, and Neil Grunberg, went on to become major contributors to the obesity literature and some of the highest regarded investigators in the field [10]. Through the work of his students, who, perhaps to Schachter’s credit, had the intellectual acumen and scientific courage to disagree with their mentor, Schachter’s theory has since been challenged [11, 12] and further extended into restraint theory [13, 14]. Dr. Rodin went on to become the first permanent female president of an Ivy League Institution and is current president of The Rockefeller Foundation, and Dr. Herman’s dietary restraint offered one of the first testable theories of eating disorder etiology, and his scale remains a regular tool for measurement [15]