EXP 3304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Fad Diet, Eating Disorder, Prefrontal Cortex

• School: UCF
• Department: Experimental Psychology
• Course: EXP 3304
• Professor: Nichole Lighthall

Document Summary

As mentioned in the video, it is common for people to describe eating disorders as a social or psychological illness, but it is also biological. Eating disorders are heavily influenced by pathways in the brain that do not function properly; when a person with an eating disorder eats, they experience high levels of anxiety and extremely disturbing thoughts. This noise is made of distracting voices that make it impossible to complete daily tasks and lead people to think that if they simply do not eat, they will not have to deal with it and can function normally. This type of reaction is a result of a few functions in the brain; when you are eating, signals are sent to the brain and go through various parts. One physiological mechanism is due to the insula, the indicator of hunger and fullness as well as the taste.