Stapleton, P., Buchan, C., Mitchell, I., McGrath, Y., Gorton, P., Carter, B. · OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine · 2019
Food craving scores decreased 18% in the EFT group versus 5% in controls, with fMRI showing relative deactivation in brain regions linked to food craving only in the EFT group.
Most tapping research relies on people describing how they feel afterward — this study instead looked directly at brain activity and found regions tied to food craving calming down after EFT sessions, something a participant can't simply will themselves to report. That kind of objective, biological signal is the strongest kind of evidence this field can offer, and it matters enormously for anyone who's been told their cravings are just a matter of willpower.
If these brain-imaging changes are replicated at scale, picture someone whose food cravings feel involuntary and overwhelming, given evidence that a free, self-administered technique, one they use on themselves with no therapist present, might actually quiet the brain circuits driving those urges, not just their reported feelings about food. That kind of biological backing could matter for people who've felt dismissed when willpower-based advice hasn't worked for them.
This is a rare case where brain imaging, not just self-report, showed something happening — the natural next step is a larger fMRI sample confirming the deactivation pattern, alongside hormonal measures like ghrelin and leptin that drive craving, and reward-circuitry imaging (nucleus accumbens, striatum) to map the full cue-reactivity pathway. Pairing that neuroimaging with real-world outcomes — sustained weight change, actual food intake tracked over weeks — would show whether the brain-level shift observed here holds up outside the scanner and translates into lasting behavior change.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 15 people |
| Population | overweight/obese adults with food cravings |
| Comparison group | no-treatment control |
| Outcome measures | food craving measure, fMRI brain activation (Superior Temporal Gyrus, lateral orbito-frontal cortex) |
| Journal | OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine |
| Year | 2019 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Stapleton, P., Buchan, C., Mitchell, I., McGrath, Y., Gorton, P., & Carter, B. (2019). An Initial Investigation of Neural Changes in Overweight Adults with Food Cravings after Emotional Freedom Techniques. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.1901010
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Weight & Food Cravings · How It Works (Biology)
A ready-made graphic — right-click or long-press to save the image.