EEG Activity during Relaxation and Food Imagery

Abstract

EEG activity was recorded in nine volunteer subjects while they engaged in eight cognitive tasks. The tasks involved mental arithmetic, relaxation imagery, food imagery and imagery related to “neutral” stimuli (bicycle and automobile). Period analysis of the EEG indicated significant differences in EEG factor activity related to tension and anxiety for the subtraction, relaxation and food imagery trials. Imagery of heaviness and the subject's favorite dessert produced EEG factor activity most characteristic of relaxation. Results of this study are discussed in terms of the relation of odor to food imagery and the ecological validity of the use of food imagery in relaxation training.