anorexia- neural explanation

Question 1

what 3 things may there be an imbalance of

Answer 1

leptin
serotonin
dopamine

Question 2

what are other biological issues that could enhance vulnerability

Answer 2

birth complications and premature birth
poor maternal nutrition (during pregnancy)

Question 3

why is this a double disadvantage (assuming mother has AN)

Answer 3

Double disadvantage: You both inherit an AN mother’s genes, then she restricts food during pregnancy – so your genetics are triggered

Question 4

not a flashcard:
all of these things (in 1,2 and 3) lead to AN

Question 5

whats the limbic system (for your understanding and to use)

Answer 5

involved in generating and processing emotional responses

Question 6

who studied this

Answer 6

lipsman (2015)

Question 7

what did he conclude

Answer 7

AN correlates to dysfunction in parts of limbic system
Lead to deficits in emotional processing
Creates the pathological thoughts/behaviors associated with AN
These neural abnormalities can help account for the extreme anxiety around food, distorted reward processing, and persistent fear of gaining weight that characterize the disorder.

Question 8

who studied the effects of dopamine and serotonin

Answer 8

kaye (2005)

Question 9

what did kaye say about dopamine

Answer 9

Dopamine: overactivity in dopamine receptors in basal ganglia
If increased, it alters the way people interpret rewards
so an increase in dopamine in AN patients causes them to find it difficult to associate good feelings with food, which is something most find pleasurable.
these high levels also increase anxiety

Question 10

what does kaye say about serotonin (similar)

Answer 10

disruption of serotonin levels may lead to increased anxiety, which can then trigger the eatingdisorder

Question 11

what is a strength of this explanation

Answer 11

Identifying neural mechanisms opens the door for biologically-based interventions, such as medications targeting neurotransmitter imbalances or brain stimulation therapies- Recovered patients show a reduction in serotonin function.

Question 12

whats a weakness

Answer 12

There are questions about whether biological explanations can accurately show a cause-and-effect relationship.
Altered neurotransmitter function may be due to the disorder rather than the cause
Just because recovered patients show reductions in serotonin and dopamine function post-recovery this does not mean that this was the original cause of the disorder.