Mental Attitude: Brains of Anorexics React Differently to Hunger.

An abnormal brain response to hunger signals appears to be the reason people develop the eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. After analyzing the neural function of 23 women who had recovered from anorexia, researchers found a decreased reward response in the brain, even in the presence of hunger. Senior author Dr. Walter Kaye adds, “Our study suggests that brain circuitry differences in anorexics make them less sensitive to reward and the motivational drive of hunger. Put another way, hunger does not motivate them to eat.” Biological Psychiatry, March 2015