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 Recovered anorexics experience pleasure differently than nonanorexics
For years, society has blamed an entertainment industry that promotes thin as beautiful for triggering anorexic behaviors in young women. The cultural standards, many said, were just too overwhelming for developing girls.
Recent research shows that while cultural standards may still be a factor in triggering anorexic behavior, the key indicator may just lie in the brain—as an inherited difference in the way it reacts to pleasure and reward.
A study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that anorexia sufferer’s brains differ from nonsufferers in the region known as the anterior ventral striatum, which is connected to emotional response. Professor Walter Kaye, of the University of Pittsburgh, said: “In anorexia, this might impact on food enjoyment. For anorexics, then, perhaps it is difficult to appreciate immediate pleasure if it does not feel much different from a negative experience.”
According to the same study, former anorexics also had difficulty experiencing simple pleasures. This information leads researchers to believe that deep in the brain there are biological differences between anorexics and nonanorexics that don’t go away.
By studying the brains of former anorexics, researchers are finding ways to better understand why some young women, typically perfectionists and worriers, are more inclined to develop this disorder. It might not be that super thin cover girl after all.
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