Regulation of dietary choice by the decision-making circuitry

To advance our understanding of how the brain makes food decisions, it is essential to combine knowledge from two fields that have not yet been well integrated: the neuro-computational basis of decision-making and the homeostatic regulators of feeding. This Review integrates these two literatures from a neuro-computational perspective, with an emphasis in describing the variables computed by different neural systems and how they affect dietary choice. We highlight what is unique about feeding decisions, the mechanisms through which metabolic and endocrine factors affect the decision-making circuitry, why making healthy food choices is difficult for many people, and key processes at work in the obesity epidemic.