 |
|
Sense of taste different in women with anorexia nervosa
September 26, 2007Imaging study finds brain changes associated with the regulation of appetite
Although anorexia nervosa is categorized as an eating disorder, it is not known whether there are alterations of the portions of the brain that regulate appetite. Now, a new study finds that women with anorexia have distinct differences in the insulta - the specific part of the brain that is important for recognizing taste - according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh and University of California, San Diego researchers currently on line in advance of publication in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
The study also implies that there may be differences in the processing of information related to self-awareness in recovering anorexics compared to those without the illness - findings that may lead to a better understanding of the cause of this serious and sometimes fatal mental disorder.
In the study led by Angela Wagner, M.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Walter H. Kaye, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Schools of Medicine, the brain activity of 32 women was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI.) The research team looked at images of the brains of 16 women who had recovered from anorexia nervosa - some of whom had been treated at the Center for Overcoming Problem Eating at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center -and 16 control subjects. They measured their brains' reactions to pleasant taste (sucrose) and neutral taste (distilled water.) The results of the fMRI study are the first evidence that individuals with anorexia process taste in a different way than those without the eating disorder.
In response to both the sucrose and water, imaging results showed that women who had recovered from anorexia had significantly reduced response in the insula and related brain regions when compared to the control group. These areas of the brain recognize taste and judge how rewarding that taste is to the person. In addition, while the controls showed a strong relationship between how they judged the pleasantness of the taste and the activity of the insula, this relationship was not seen in those who had recovered from anorexia.
According to Kaye, it is possible that individuals with anorexia have difficulty recognizing taste, or responding to the pleasure associated with food. Because this region of the brain also contributes to emotional regulation, it may be that food is aversive, rather than rewarding. This could shed light on why individuals with anorexia avoid normally "pleasurable" foods, fail to appropriately respond to hunger and are able to lose so much weight.
"We know that the insula and the connected regions are thought to play an important role in interoceptive information, which determines how the individual senses the physiological condition of the entire body," said Kaye. "Interoception has long been thought to be critical for self-awareness because it provides the link between thinking and mood, and the current body state."
This lack of interoceptive awareness may contribute to other symptoms of anorexia nervosa such as distorted body image, lack of recognition of the symptoms of malnutrition and diminished motivation to change, according to Kaye.
Anorexia nervosa is a serious and potentially lethal illness, which may result in death in ten percent of cases. It is characterized by the relentless pursuit of thinness, emaciation and the obsessive fear of gaining weight. Anorexia commonly begins during adolescence, but strikes throughout the lifespan, and is nine times more common in females than in males. These characteristics support the possibility that biological processes contribute to developing this disorder.
University of California - San Diego
In the study led by Angela Wagner, M.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Walter H. Kaye, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Schools of Medicine, the brain activity of 32 women was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI.) The research team looked at images of the brains of 16 women who had recovered from anorexia nervosa - some of whom had been treated at the Center for Overcoming Problem Eating at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center -and 16 control subjects. They measured their brains' reactions to pleasant taste (sucrose) and neutral taste (distilled water.) The results of the fMRI study are the first evidence that individuals with anorexia process taste in a different way than those without the eating disorder.
In response to both the sucrose and water, imaging results showed that women who had recovered from anorexia had significantly reduced response in the insula and related brain regions when compared to the control group. These areas of the brain recognize taste and judge how rewarding that taste is to the person. In addition, while the controls showed a strong relationship between how they judged the pleasantness of the taste and the activity of the insula, this relationship was not seen in those who had recovered from anorexia.
According to Kaye, it is possible that individuals with anorexia have difficulty recognizing taste, or responding to the pleasure associated with food. Because this region of the brain also contributes to emotional regulation, it may be that food is aversive, rather than rewarding. This could shed light on why individuals with anorexia avoid normally "pleasurable" foods, fail to appropriately respond to hunger and are able to lose so much weight.
"We know that the insula and the connected regions are thought to play an important role in interoceptive information, which determines how the individual senses the physiological condition of the entire body," said Kaye. "Interoception has long been thought to be critical for self-awareness because it provides the link between thinking and mood, and the current body state."
This lack of interoceptive awareness may contribute to other symptoms of anorexia nervosa such as distorted body image, lack of recognition of the symptoms of malnutrition and diminished motivation to change, according to Kaye.
Anorexia nervosa is a serious and potentially lethal illness, which may result in death in ten percent of cases. It is characterized by the relentless pursuit of thinness, emaciation and the obsessive fear of gaining weight. Anorexia commonly begins during adolescence, but strikes throughout the lifespan, and is nine times more common in females than in males. These characteristics support the possibility that biological processes contribute to developing this disorder.
University of California - San Diego
Anorexia Nervosa Current Events and Anorexia Nervosa News RSSWhen Mum has an eating problem
They would love to be perfect mothers. Instead, they feel ashamed and inadequate, and fearful that their children might inherit their eating difficulties.
APA announces draft diagnostic criteria for DSM-5
The American Psychiatric Association today released the proposed draft diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Why anorexic patients cling to their eating disorder
Anorexic patients drastically reduce food intake and are often not capable of changing their behavior.
Review provides new insights into the causes of anorexia
New imaging technology provides insight into abnormalities in the brain circuitry of patients with anorexia nervosa (commonly known as anorexia) that may contribute to the puzzling symptoms found in people with the eating disorder.
Milkshakes Are Medicine for Anorexic Teens in Family-Based Outpatient Therapy
Getting your teenager to drink a chocolate milkshake isn't something most parents need to worry about.
Psychiatric disorders are common in adults who have had anorexia
The study was initiated in 1985. A total of 51 teenagers with anorexia nervosa were studied, together with an equally large control group of healthy persons. The groups have been investigated and compared several times as the years have passed.
Pregnant women with bulimia have more anxiety and depression
Women who have bulimia in pregnancy have more symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to pregnant women without eating disorders.
Hunger hormone increases during stress, may have antidepressant effect
New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center may explain why some people who are stressed or depressed overeat.
New Rhode Island Hospital study shows inadequate diagnostic criteria for eating disorders
A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University suggests that the DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders have limited clinical utility. Researchers recommend a broadening of the criteria for bulimia, anorexia and binge eating disorder.
People with anorexia less likely to be blamed when biology, genetics explained
People given a biological and genetics-based explanation for the causes of anorexia nervosa were less likely to blame people with anorexia for their illness than those given a sociocultural explanation, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found.
More Anorexia Nervosa Current Events and Anorexia Nervosa News Articles
 |
Exile by Anorexia Nervosa |
 |
Anorexia Nervosa: A Guide to Recovery by Lindsey Hall (Author), Monika Ostroff (Author) Anorexia nervosa, in simple terms, is self-starvation. However, it is a complex problem with intricate roots; and, recovery is best accomplished with a grasp of sound information, specific tasks, and the support of others. All of that is provided in this guidebook, which includes: o Answers to questions most often asked about anorexia o Insight from recovered and recovering anorexics o Monika Ostroff’s story of recovery o Specific things to do that have worked for others o Information on healthy eating and weight o Suggestions for how to stay committed o A special section for parents & loved ones |
 |
Drudenhaus by Anorexia Nervosa Second full length & follow-up to 'Sodomizing the Archedangel' EP. From French metal godz (sung in English, French, Latin & German). Fast, gothic & orchestral black-Metal. Standard jewel case. |
 |
Feeling For Bones by Bethany Pierce (Author) Pressurized family dynamics and a dysfunctional church experience force 16-year-old Olivia to seek her own reality. Hounded by the distorted reflections of mirrors, car doors, and shop windows, she sets things in order by papering her bedroom wall with glossy clippings from glamour magazines. Olivia's baggy clothes and exhaustive calorie scrutiny can't cover up the fact that she is allowing her body to wither away. As she encounters small town prying and a tighter-than-comfortable rental house Olivia's escape becomes her art. And her goal becomes the impossible perfection of the airbrushed models on her wall. Feeling for Bones is Olivia's story as her struggles become more than physical and she is finally led to the answers she was running from all along. This... |
 |
New Obscurantis Order Anorexia Nervosa (Primary Contributor) |
 |
Redemption Process by Anorexia Nervosa |
 |
Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa: A Family-Based Approach by MD PhD James Lock MD PhD (Author), Daniel le Grange PhD (Author), W. Stewart Agras M.D. (Author), Christopher Dare (Author), James Lock (Author), Daniel le Grange (Author), W. Agras (Author) This practical manual offers a step-by-step guide to the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescents. Unique in its focus on mobilizing parents and siblings as a resource in treatment, the approach is ideal for short-term treatment and has demonstrated effectiveness in controlled clinical trials. Intervention is divided into three clearly defined phases. Using such innovative methods as a family meal, the clinician first learns strategies for helping families gain immediate control over the adolescent's eating behaviors. Once the patient accepts parental demands to eat, related family problems are addressed in the second phase. The third and final phase of treatment aims toward getting adolescent development back on track and establishing family relationships that do not revolve around... |
 |
New Obscurantis Order by Anorexia Nervosa German edition of 2001 album. 8 tracks total including 'Mother Anorexia' & 'Hail Tyranny'. Osmose Productions. |
 |
Demystifying Anorexia Nervosa: An Optimistic Guide to Understanding and Healing (Developmental Perspectives on Psychotraumatology) by Alexander R Lucas (Author) Emotionally and physically devastating, anorexia nervosa is the third most common chronic illness in teenage girls, striking one in every two hundred (boys only make up 10% of all cases). And while there are many books on the subject, most are either personal accounts of recovery or attempts to explain the disease from only one perspective, be it psychoanalytic, behavioral, cultural, or biological. Now, in this much-needed resource, Dr. Alexander Lucas draws on 40 years of experience mostly at the Mayo Clinic to offer clear guidance and authoritative advice on how to overcome anorexia nervosa. Based on his own unique research with thousands of patients, and striking a careful balance between psychological, cultural, and biological approaches, Dr. Lucas demystifies this seemingly... |
 |
NOVA: Dying to Be Thin Starring: Susan Sarandon Directed By: Larkin McPhee A 14-year-old looks at her image and says, "I see somebody that is fat and ugly and a disappointment." She is like a growing number of young American girls afflicted with such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Tormented by an irrational fear of being fat, an estimated eight million young women are torturing themselves—sometimes to death. It’s no wonder eighty percent of women are dissatisfied with their bodies. Driven by the waif-like images flooding the media of popular actresses, models, dancers and celebrities—who can weigh nearly twenty-five percent less than the average American woman—young girls are obsessed with an unattainable image of perfection. Dying To Be Thin introduces you to students, ballet dancers, fashion models and other young women who... |
| © 2010 BrightSurf.com |