Anorexics’ Brains Are Different
How Anorexic Brain Functioning Affects Women with Eating Disorders
Dec 3, 2007
Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychological disorder. Treatments for anorexia include psychological counseling – but there is no proven treatment to reduce the symptoms of this eating disorder. Studying the human brain patterns of anorexics may improve the treatment of anorexia. Learning about anorexics’ brain function may also shed light on the cause of anorexia or other eating disorders.
Anorexics’ Brain Functioning: The Test
Dr Walter Kaye, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine studied 13 women recovering from anorexia nervosa and 13 non-eating-disordered women. The participants guessed whether a flashing question mark was lower or higher than the number five; correct guesses received $2 while incorrect guesses lost $1.
Anorexics’ Brain Functioning: The Results
“During the game, brain regions lit up in different ways for women who formerly had anorexia compared to healthy controls. While the brain region for emotional responses showed strong differences for winning and losing in healthy women, women with a past history of anorexia showed little difference between winning and losing,” says Dr Kaye.
Anorexics’ brains may focus more on the consequences of their choices and less on the immediate feelings of pleasure. Anorexics’ brains may tend more toward worrying about the future and doing things right – and center on perfectionism and details.
The non-eating disordered participants moved on to the next guess with little preoccupation with their choices. Women with past anorexia struggles tended to be concerned with making mistakes and tried to find strategies within the game, which suggests that anorexics’ brains function differently than others.
Anorexics’ Brain Functioning: Sense of Taste is Different
Anorexics’ brain patterns also reveal that their taste buds are different, according to a different study by the University of Pittsburgh. Anorexics don’t respond to the pleasurable taste of food the same way that healthy people do; food is actually aversive or distasteful. Food doesn’t taste as good to anorexics, which provides insights into the anorexic brain functioning.
Anorexics’ Brain Functioning: The Future
The results of this study on anorexics’ brain functioning could provide insight into not only the treatment of anorexia, but also the causes of anorexia and other eating disorders.
Recovery from anorexia is usually slow and gradual – but some studies reveal that 70% of women with this eating disorder recover by age 30. The duration of anorexia is usually three years, with the majority recovering within five years.
If you found Anorexic Brain Functioning interesting, you might want to read:
- Anorexia a Psychological Problem
- Signs of Eating Disorders
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Sleep Eating Disorders
