Bulimia and the Vaso-Vagal Reflex

Posted on 06/02/2010 by scicurious

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.org
This is another post in Sci’s investigation into the current studies being performed on eating disorders, particularly binge eating and bulimia. Usually I try to focus on the dysregulation of reward-related systems in these disorders, but this paper will be a little different.
ResearchBlogging.org Faris et al. “De-Stabilization of the Positive Vago-Vagal Reflex in Bulimia Nervosa” Physiology and Behavior, 2008.
It’s kind of in the nature of an eating disorder that there aren’t any really funny pictures or something that Sci can put in here.
So before we go forward, here’s a kitten.
cute_baby_kitten.jpg
(ahhhhh.)

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Filed under: Behavioral Neuro, CNS Diseases and Disorders, Neuroscience | Tagged: , , | 10 Comments »

Binge Eating, Bulimia, and Reward Sensitivity

Posted on 04/14/2010 by scicurious

You all may remember that Sci’s recent posts have focused on eating, overeating, and dopamine. Today, Sci continues this trend. Honestly, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. How is overeating like addiction? How is it different? And so she began to look up a bunch of papers on binge eating and dopamine.
I was particularly interesting in the changes in food intake and reward associated responses in people with eating disorders like bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. There are many hypotheses as to why these eating disorders exist, ranging from problems with society (which can certainly contribute to the incidence of the disorders), to hypotheses of obsessive control akin to the compulsions seen with OCD, to increased sensitivity to reward, to decreased sensitivity to reward.
This increased/decreased sensitivity to reward (some people have seen decreased sensitivity to reward in rats, along with increased self-administration of pleasurable things, but what this actually translates to in humans can be difficult to interpret) was particularly interesting, and so Sci was very glad when she came across this study.
ResearchBlogging.org Schienle et al. “Binge-Eating Disorder: Reward Sensitivity and Brain Activation to Images of Food “, Biological Psychiatry, 2008.
willy-wonka-choc-factory.jpg
(Sci will admit her brain activated really hardcore looking at that. Soooo much chocolate…)

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Filed under: Behavioral Neuro, Neuroanatomy | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Dopamine and Obesity: The Food Addiction?

Posted on 03/30/2010 by scicurious

Sci picked this paper today partially because it was handed to her on a platter by the fantastic Dr. Pal, and partially because today she is SO HUNGRY. She’s had a TON of food already today, and is still entirely ravenous. Maybe it was looking at this paper too long.
(Cereal break)
Anyway.
As I’m sure most of y’all out there are aware, obesity is a problem in the US. No one is sure whether it’s due to increased portion size, increased availability, decreased physical activity, changes in gut bacteria, issues with our behavioral approaches to food, or all of the above. But scientists have been working for a while not only to look at the effects of overeating and obesity, but also to look at what CAUSES these things in the brain and body. And today we present a paper on an interesting piece of this puzzle, one that Sci has had a good deal of interest in: the idea of overeating as an addiction-like phenomenon.
ResearchBlogging.org Johnson and Kenney. “Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats.” Nature Neuroscience, 2010.
special-k.jpg
(If we’re going to talking about food and addiction, behold Sci’s drug of choice)

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Filed under: Addiction, Behavioral Neuro | Tagged: , , , , | 27 Comments »

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