Anorexia/Bulimia and the Brain

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http://www.medicaldaily.com/anorexia-and-bulimia-brains-people-eating-disorders-communicate-backward-403660

An article posted by Medical Daily online, discusses a study conducted to examine the difference in the brain of a non-eating disorder person and the brain of a person with an eating disorder. Researchers studied how both women with anorexia or bulimia and healthy women reacted to tasting sugary foods. The researchers found that when the healthy women were tasting the sugary foods their hypothalamus was motivating them to eat. The hypothalamus of the women with anorexia or bulimia was sending signals from other regions in the brain that would override the hypothalamus and discourage eating the sugary food.

This was novel and informative research. The study conducted answered the question of what is happening in the brain of someone with an eating disorder when they are presented with food.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 29, 2016 at 12:16 AM

    I found this article to be extremely interesting. It caused me to consider how those who suffer from anorexia and bulimia have conditioned not only their bodies, but brains in a way that when presented with food they have a physiological response. They were able to retrain their mind into thinking that sugary foods are bad. To think we are capable of basically rewiring our brain is astounding.

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  2. UnknownNovember 29, 2016 at 4:27 AM

    I wonder in which parts of the brain these new signals that stop these women from eating are coming from and whether that part of the brain correlates to this idea that they have also manipulated their brain into believing that when they eat it is not good. This research certainly gives a different perspective to the quote "mind over matter".

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  3. Nicole RafalkoNovember 29, 2016 at 7:48 AM

    It makes you think that if we find out what parts of the brain these signals are coming from then we can tackle eating disorders better. If it is signals that are preventing these people from eating then maybe finding a way to continue the signals to flow will help these people out. It's amazing to see that a simple "rewire" of the brain can have a huge impact.

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  4. UnknownApril 20, 2017 at 2:32 PM

    I also found it interesting how women with eating disorders seemed to rewire their brain. I would like to find out what causes this difference in thought. I feel that this research is a good step in helping people heal from their disorders.

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  5. Kee RoseApril 21, 2017 at 12:37 PM

    I wonder if the severity of the eating disorder is a factor in rewiring the brain. This makes sense as Professor McGinley discussed the Addiction class about how the body acts with tolerance to drugs. I would imagine that the brain works the same way. It gets used to the patterns that is constantly being set. If there is an adverse reaction to eating/digesting food, the hypothalamus will have to fall in line and let the body/brain adjust to these changes being made. Eventually overriding the hypothalamus will become the norm. I have to agree with Ciara that this challenges "mind over matter". Even though this is insightful information, I am not surprised because your brain is the most powerful organ and can influence daily life to an extreme extent.

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