anorexia and the brain

The brain has a large part in the causes of of anorexia nervosa. Studies by Arline Kaplan have actually revealed neurocircuit dysregulation and has helped clarify the disorder’s confounding symptoms to this disorder. The studies have shown that insights into the ventral (limbic) and dorsal (cognitive) neural circuit dysfunction, perhaps related to altered serotonin and dopamine metabolism, may help explain why people with anorexia feel as if dieting reduces their anxiety while eating actually increases it. This is also the cause of why they worry about long-term consequences but seem immune to immediate gratification and unable to live in the moment. Personality traits can also cause the outcome of this disorder. Some examples include harm avoidance, anxiety, behavioral inhibition, difficulty with moving from one mental set to another, a tendency to focus on details rather than the big picture, and perfectionism. Even after recovery from anorexia, these traits persist. The starvation and malnutrition involved with the disorder can negatively effect the brain. Such changes include neurochemical imbalances, which can exaggerate the preexisting traits and accelerate the disease process. People with this disorder tend to have a reduced brain volume and a regression to prepubertal gonadal function. However, these disturbances tend to normalize after weight restoration, which is suggesting that these alterations are state-related. Imaging studies have shown that individuals with anorexia have an imbalance between circuits in the brain that regulate emotion and rewardand circuits that are associated with consequences and planning ahead. There has also been brain-imaging studies that show that people with anorexia have alterations in parts of the brain involving with interoceptive self-awareness that In addition, altered function of other related regions may be implicated in disturbed bodily sensations. Anorexia may may also contribute to sensing of the rewarding aspects of pleasurable foods. This is stating that people with anorexia may literally not recognize when they are hungry. http://eatingdisorders.ucsd.edu/documents/Kaplan_PsychiatricTimes.pdf

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Anorexia is usually developed amongst adolescent girls thinking they are overweight when they are not. Around the onset of puberty there is a stage girls go through where they feel as if they need to lose weight because they are self conscious about their body. A weight loss is when you lose 15% of your normal body weight. Many anorexics decide to use laxatives or they overly exercise to lose more weight. This disorder is most common between dancers, models, celebrities, distance runners and theater. Some major symptoms of this can be not wanting or refusing to eat in public, a loss in three menstrual cycles, brittle skin, shortness in breath, anxiety and obsessiveness about calorie intake. Some medical risks that can follow with this disorder are shrunken bones, mineral loss, irregular heartbeat, low body temperature, permanent failure of normal growth, and development of osteoporosis and/or bulimia nervosa. The use of laxatives can also harm the bowel muscle from being overused. Being pregnant with anorexia is also a very dangerous thing that can occur. Most people with anorexia cannot conceive or they have many miscarriages due to the menstrual cycles being screwed up. The baby can also be born prematurely which can put it at risk of many medical problems. A person that is pregnant that recovered from anorexia can however have healthy babies as long as they have more prenatal care than normal people. This eating disorder can be overcome. The only hard part is getting the anorexic person to admit their disorder and get help. It is the same with and alcoholic or a drug abuser not admitting their addiction. The only thing different is that an anorexic person has an addiction to not eating and losing weight. A person with anorexia can either get their disorder from the media, a traumatic experience, or even some type of sport than can cause their obsession over weight loss.   http://www.mamashealth.com/anorexia.asp 

anorexia

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards says that anorexia is a psychological disorder is a condition that goes beyond out-of-control dieting. A person with anorexia often initially begins dieting to lose weight. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to one's body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosay.