Visually Appealing iEat® Food Products Enhance Visual Cortex Activity in Patients with Dysphagia: A Functional MRI (fMRI) Study.

OBJECTIVE: Texture-modified diets are common for patients with dysphagia, but can reduce food recognition and appetite. iEat® foods maintain the appearance and nutritional value of regular foods while being softened. This study aimed to investigate the brain activity in patients with dysphagia while viewing visually appealing iEat® food products (EN Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS: This cross-sectional neuroimaging study was conducted at a rehabilitation hospital from January 2017 to December 2020. Twenty patients with dysphagia were recruited through convenience sampling from inpatients admitted to the hospital. Patients with dysphagia were presented with images of iEat food products, pureed foods, and non-food objects while their brain activity was measured using fMRI. RESULTS: The presentation of iEat food products elicited significantly higher subjective appetite ratings compared to pureed foods. Viewing iEat food products significantly increased activity in the visual cortex, particularly in the left middle occipital gyrus. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between the left middle occipital gyrus activity and subjective appetite ratings. No significant activity was observed in the reward system, including the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, and striatum. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that visually appealing food presentation, such as iEat food products, enhances visual cortex activity in patients with dysphagia, potentially contributing to improved appetite and food intake.