A new study reveals biological reasons for feelings of anxiety instead of reward in patients with anorexia

Perhaps the most puzzling symptom of anorexia nervosa – a disorder that tends to occur in young women – is the refusal to eat, resulting in extreme weight loss. While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation. A new study, now online in the journal International Journal of Eating Disorders, sheds light on why these symptoms occur in anorexia nervosa.

Most people find eating to be a pleasant and rewarding experience. In contrast, people with anorexia nervosa often say that eating makes them more anxious, and food refusal makes them feel better. Research over the past decade has provided new insights into the brain mechanisms that are associated with the rewarding aspects of eating. One of these brain chemicals is dopamine, which is released when people or animals eat tasty foods.

A study led by Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, used a brain imaging technology called positron emission tomography (PET), which permits visualization of dopamine function in the brain. In order to provoke dopamine levels in the brain, scientists administered a one-time dose of the drug amphetamine, which releases dopamine in the brain. [continue reading…]

We’re all time-starved, distracted and constantly moving at warp-speed. Checking emails, texts, social media….life ticks away and there never seems to be enough time.

My life, like yours, is full of work, report deadlines, family, projects and errands.

Which is why this past weekend I took a step back, and made space just for me (and her indoors of course)! I left technology behind and spent 3 glorious days away, and took the time to connect with nature and myself.

I watched swallows hunting insects on the wing, and read a book to the lap lapping of the lake. I walked and witnessed bald eagles circling… and had to beat a quick retreat to remove (their potential dinner) my Scotty dogs to a place of safety – those who know Mac will chuckle at this thought!

I luxuriated in the glory of a secret late morning nap. Ah bliss……..

There’s a heck of a lot to be said for simply stopping and watching life as it is happens.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Leisure ~ W H Davies

We have all seen the headlines. A powerful athlete, politician or businessman has committed adultery. The tabloids fly off the shelves and the papers are consumed with the how’s and why’s. However there is one key group that is often missing from the news and gossip columns – women.

It is a commonly accepted notion that men simply are more likely to cheat than women. However, an upcoming study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science, looks at the role that power, rather than gender, plays in infidelity.

Using a large, anonymous internet survey of 1561 individuals, Joris Lammers of Tilburg University and a team of researchers set out to discover if there is a higher risk of unfaithfulness in people in positions of power, regardless of gender. “There has been a lot of research in the past that indicates that gender is the strongest predictor of infidelity, but none of these studies have been done on powerful women,” said Lammers. [continue reading…]