A new study is shedding light on how brain function may affect and explain eating behaviours in patients with anorexia. The study which demonstrates how there is increased activity in the dorsal striatum of patients with anorexia, an area associated with habitual behaviour that is impacted in other disorders including addiction, also explains why our traditional treatments such as talk therapy or medications fail to be effective in many. Rather, the study suggests we reconsider our management strategies, including by putting focus on early diagnosis and treatment.
"The anorexic women were more likely than the healthy women to choose low-fat, low-calorie foods, and they were less apt to rate high-fat, high-calorie foods as “tasty,” the study found.
As expected, both the anorexic and the healthy women showed activation in an area known as the ventral striatum, part of the brain’s reward center. But the anorexic women showed more activity in the dorsal striatum, an area involved with habitual behavior, suggesting that rather than weighing the pros and cons of the foods in question, they were acting automatically based on past learning."
Find out more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/health/extreme-dieting-of-anorexia-may-be-entrenched-habit-study-finds.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
"The anorexic women were more likely than the healthy women to choose low-fat, low-calorie foods, and they were less apt to rate high-fat, high-calorie foods as “tasty,” the study found.
As expected, both the anorexic and the healthy women showed activation in an area known as the ventral striatum, part of the brain’s reward center. But the anorexic women showed more activity in the dorsal striatum, an area involved with habitual behavior, suggesting that rather than weighing the pros and cons of the foods in question, they were acting automatically based on past learning."
Find out more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/health/extreme-dieting-of-anorexia-may-be-entrenched-habit-study-finds.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
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