Eating Disorders Blog

Researchers at Missouri University (MU) found in a recent study that deactivating the brain region involved with emotion could block the consumption of certain foods, but may not stop the craving for those foods.

Matthew Will, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at MU, described the experiment as possibly "short-circuiting" the brain networks which are associated with shifting from craving to consumption.

The experiment was conducted using rats. In both rats and humans, the brain releases chemicals known as opioids, which reward certain behaviors. Opioids have been shown to trigger binge eating in non-hungry rats and humans.

"The hope is that the more detailed we can biologically define the feeding process from beginning to end, the more we will understand how to address a feeding disorder such as overeating," Will said. "Since overeating is not a product of a hunger epidemic in this country but rather an addiction to food, this model is trying to figure out what in the brain regulates this latter type of feeding."

(Source: www.columbiamissourian.com)

Labels: binge-eating, emotions, opioids, brain chemistry

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Anorexia’s devastating effects on the body are well-known and documented. Now, scientists have discovered that it affects the brain as well.

“A study published online this month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders compared changes in brain volume among 32 adult women with anorexia nervosa and a control group made up of 21 healthy women… At the beginning of the study, the women with anorexia had less gray matter volume than the healthy controls.” Source: LA Times]

The study used MRI scans to measure gray matter as the women with anorexia were treated and began gaining weight. Most saw an increase in gray matter volume as they gained weight, though the volume never reached levels considered normal for healthy adults.

 

Labels: anorexia, brain chemistry

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

People suffering from anorexia nervosa show decreased amounts of gray matter in their brains, according to a new study from Germany.

• Dr. Joos Kloppel and his colleagues used brain imaging technology to study the brains of 12 people with anorexia and 17 who are bulimic.
• The ones with bulimia did not show changes in the gray or white matter in their brains but the anorexics showed less volume in gray matter.
• One interesting finding of the study was that the subjects' scores on "drive for thinness" correlated with right inferior degree matter volumes in both the anorexic and bulimic subjects.

The study appears in the journal Neuropsychologist.

Labels: anorexia, brain chemistry

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment