Selective attention is the cognitive process that allows individuals to focus on a specific stimulus while ignoring other irrelevant information in the environment. It allows people to process important details and filter out distractions efficiently.

Self-regulation refers to the conscious and nonconscious processes by which people manage their thoughts, emotions, attention, behavior, and impulses (Petinelli, 2008).

The process by which we receive information from the environment (Wozniak, 2011),.

Internal or external events have a signaling significance to an organism and subsequently affect learning and behavior. Sensory signals (sometimes referred to as “cues”) can be internally generated (i.e., through brain processes associated with perception, for example) or externally generated (through a visual cue from a food commercial). Food cues affect hunger and nutritional choices (Duszka et al., 2020).

The transformation of physiological sensory stimulus (sight, sound, smell, taste) into meaningful information that is informed by cognitive (i.e., memory/decision making), behavioral (i.e., habits), psychological (i.e., emotions/mood), psychosocial (environment), and interoceptive (internal sensation) processes and experience.

Sensory-specific appetite refers to the appetite for food being cued through smell (Boesveldt, 2016).

SSDs can be described as a general desire for certain tastes (e.g., sweet, salty, or fatty foods) and an intrinsic motivation to eat a food that contains that characteristic (Olsen, 2011),.

A sensory hedonic phenomenon refers to the declining satisfaction generated by the consumption of a certain type of food and the consequent renewal in appetite resulting from exposure to a new flavor or food. SSS is why you still have room for dessert even when you are full from dinner.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that contributes to the regulation of mood, appetite, and sleep. It is widely distributed in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. Serotonin is often called the”feel-good” neurotransmitter and is associated with feelings of well-being and happiness. Imbalances in serotonin levels are linked to conditions like depression and anxiety.

SCFAs such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate are the most common microbial metabolites produced in the large intestine’s digestion of complex carbohydrates (dietary fibers). SCFAs regulate gut health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, nourishing the gut barrier, and maintaining gut barrier functions (Silva, Bernardi, & Frozza, 2020).