Summary: Anorexia nervosa may have an increased level of opioid neurotransmission in the mind, which may explain appetite loss and psychological symptoms. Compared to good settings, patients with anorexia had increased opioidergic voice, which regulates taste, pleasure, and feeling.
Despite intense hunger, sugar absorption in the brains of anorexia patients remained close to controls, suggesting the head prioritizes maintaining functionality. These findings may describe the relationship between hunger regulation, stress, and depression in illness and offer new directions for therapy development.
Important Information:
- Anorexic patients demonstrated increased head opioid activity compared to controls. Elevated Opioidergic Tone
- Energy Use Preserved: Head glucose uptake remained stable despite significant hunger.
- Link Between Mood Regulation: Changes in opioid use may lead to anorexia’s anxiety and depression.
Origin: University of Turku
Anorexia may be caused by changes in the way the brain functions narcotic neurons, according to a study carried out at the Turku PET Centre in Finland.
Anorexia nervosa is a severe medical problem characterised by limited having, fear of gaining weight, and body image disturbances, which may lead to serious malnutrition, depression and anxiety.
Anorexia may be explained by changes in brain serotonin work, according to a recent research from Turku PET Centre.
Opioid neurogenesis in the brain regulates hunger and pleasure. The body’s opioidergic level was higher in anorexic disorder patients than in healthy control.
” We have previously demonstrated that the voice of this program is lowered in obese people. It is likely that the behavior of these substances control both the damage and increase in stomach,” says Professor , Pirjo Nuutila , from the University of Turku, Finland.
In contrast, the researchers measured the body’s glucose adoption. The head accounts for about 20 % of the brain’s total energy use, so the scientists were interested in how a decrease in the intake of power affects the body’s energy stability in anorexia.
Similar amounts of glucose were used in the brains of good control subjects in the anorexia nervosa patients.
” Although being thin obligations physiology in many ways, the mind tries to protect itself and keep its ability to function for as long as possible”, says Professor , Lauri Nummenmaa , from Turku PET Centre and continues:
According to the author,” the brain regulates hunger and feeding, and changes in brain functionality are linked to both fat and lower body bodyweight.”
Our findings may explain the psychological symptoms and mood changes associated with anorexia nervosa because changes in opiate activity in the brain are even related to anxiety and depression.
The Turku University Hospital and Pusan National University in South Korea collaborated to conduct the study.
Positivity emission tomography was used to image the brains of both good control and anorexic disorder patients at Turku PET Centre.
About this research in eating disorders and neuroscience
Author: Tuomas Koivula
Source: University of Turku
Contact: Tuomas Koivula – University of Turku
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
By Lauri Nummenmaa and others,” Anorexia nervosa is related to greater brain mu-opioid receptor accessibility..” Molecular Psychiatry
Abstract
Anorexia nervosa is related to greater brain mu-opioid receptor accessibility.
Anorexia nervosa ( AN ) is a severe psychiatric disorder, characterized by restricted eating, fear to gain weight, and a distorted body image.
Mu-opioid receptor ( MOR ) serves as a component of a complex opioid system and aids both homeostatic and hedonistic control of eating behavior.
In this study, thirteen patients with AN and thirteen healthy controls ( HC ) were included. We measured ( 1 ) MOR availability with]11C] carfentanil positron emission tomography ( PET ), ( 2 ) brain glucose uptake ( BGU) with 2-deoxy-2]18F] fluoro-D-glucose ( ]18F] FDG) PET during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and ( 3 ) blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal with functional magnetic resonance imaging.
All subjects underwent a screening visit consisting of physical examination, anthropometric measurements, fasting blood samples, an oral glucose tolerance test, psychiatric assessment, and an inquiry regarding medical history.
Body fat mass ( % ) was measured and M value was calculated. Patients with AN had higher rates of MOR availability from caudate and putamen, while those from nucleus accumbens ( NAcc ) and thalamus had higher rates of MOR availability.
There was no area where MOR availability for AN patients was lower. BGU did not differ between AN and HC. Caudate, NAcc, and thalamus were negatively correlated with MOR availability and BGU, which also revealed a negative correlation between these two factors.
In conclusion, AN is associated with higher MOR availability in the brain regions implicated in reward processing, while BGU remains unaltered.
Therefore, one of the key components of AN might be the endogenous opioid system. This improved understanding of AN might lead to the development of novel treatments for AN.
