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Ravanfar P, Rushmore RJ, Lyall AE, Cropley V, Makris N, Desmond P, Velakoulis D, Shenton ME, Bush AI, Rossell SL, Pantelis C, Syeda WT, Phillipou A. Investigation of brain iron in anorexia nervosa, a quantitative susceptibility mapping study. J Eat Disord 2023; 11:142. [PMID: 37605216 PMCID: PMC10441741 DOI: 10.1186/s40337-023-00870-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a potentially fatal psychiatric condition, associated with structural brain changes such as gray matter volume loss. The pathophysiological mechanisms for these changes are not yet fully understood. Iron is a crucial element in the development and function of the brain. Considering the systemic alterations in iron homeostasis in AN, we hypothesized that brain iron would be altered as a possible factor associated with structural brain changes in AN. METHODS In this study, we used quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain iron in current AN (c-AN) and weight-restored AN compared with healthy individuals. Whole-brain voxel wise comparison was used to probe areas with possible group differences. Further, the thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and amygdala were selected as the regions of interest (ROIs) for ROI-based comparison of mean QSM values. RESULTS Whole-brain voxel-wise and ROI-based comparison of QSM did not reveal any differences between groups. Exploratory analyses revealed a correlation between higher regional QSM (higher iron) and lower body mass index, higher illness severity, longer illness duration, and younger age at onset in the c-AN group. CONCLUSIONS This study did not find evidence of altered brain iron in AN compared to healthy individuals. However, the correlations between clinical variables and QSM suggest a link between brain iron and weight status or biological processes in AN, which warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parsa Ravanfar
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry ST, Carlton South, VIC, 3053, Australia.
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - R Jarrett Rushmore
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Morphometric Analysis (CMA), Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amanda E Lyall
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vanessa Cropley
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry ST, Carlton South, VIC, 3053, Australia
| | - Nikos Makris
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Morphometric Analysis (CMA), Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Patricia Desmond
- Department of Radiology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Dennis Velakoulis
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry ST, Carlton South, VIC, 3053, Australia
- Neuropsychiatry, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Martha E Shenton
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ashley I Bush
- Melbourne Dementia Research Centre, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Susan L Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia
- Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Christos Pantelis
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry ST, Carlton South, VIC, 3053, Australia
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Warda T Syeda
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry ST, Carlton South, VIC, 3053, Australia
| | - Andrea Phillipou
- Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Orygen, Melbourne, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Mental Health, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia
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Sutton Hickey AK, Duane SC, Mickelsen LE, Karolczak EO, Shamma AM, Skillings A, Li C, Krashes MJ. AgRP neurons coordinate the mitigation of activity-based anorexia. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1622-1635. [PMID: 36577844 PMCID: PMC10782560 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01932-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a debilitating and deadly disease characterized by low body mass index due to diminished food intake, and oftentimes concurrent hyperactivity. A high percentage of AN behavioral and metabolic phenotypes can be replicated in rodents given access to a voluntary running wheel and subject to food restriction, termed activity-based anorexia (ABA). Despite the well-documented bodyweight loss observed in AN human patients and ABA rodents, much less is understood regarding the neurobiological underpinnings of these maladaptive behaviors. Hunger-promoting hypothalamic agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons have been well characterized in their ability to regulate appetite, yet much less is known regarding their activity and function in the mediation of food intake during ABA. Here, feeding microstructure analysis revealed ABA mice decreased food intake due to increased interpellet interval retrieval and diminished meal number. Longitudinal activity recordings of AgRP neurons in ABA animals exhibited a maladaptive inhibitory response to food, independent of basal activity changes. We then demonstrated that ABA development or progression can be mitigated by chemogenetic AgRP activation through the reprioritization of food intake (increased meal number) over hyperactivity, but only during periods of food availability. These results elucidate a potential neural target for the amelioration of behavioral maladaptations present in AN patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ames K Sutton Hickey
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Sean C Duane
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Laura E Mickelsen
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Eva O Karolczak
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ahmed M Shamma
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Anna Skillings
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Chia Li
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Michael J Krashes
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Bhasin H, O'Brien SC, Cordner ZA, Aston SA, Tamashiro KLK, Moran TH. Activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats causes changes in brain mitochondrial dynamics. Physiol Behav 2023; 261:114072. [PMID: 36599403 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.114072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality as well as a high rate of relapse. The molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of the disorder or the relapses are largely unknown. Patients with AN have been shown to have increased oxidative stress, but its involvement in the development in the disease is unknown. We have previously shown that adolescent female rats undergoing the activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm also show signs of oxidative stress. Due to their role in the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondria are of high interest in diseases exhibiting oxidative stress. In this study, the impact of ABA on brain mitochondrial dynamics was examined. We found transient changes in the medial prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, and hippocampus following 25% weight loss and changes in the amygdala at a 10-day weight recovery timepoint. These changes point towards damage in the mitochondria contributing to the oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harshit Bhasin
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America; Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Shannon C O'Brien
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Zachary A Cordner
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - S Andrew Aston
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Kellie L K Tamashiro
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Timothy H Moran
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
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Pinos H, Sánchez-Serrano R, Carrillo B, Fernández-García JM, García-Úbeda R, de Paz A, López-Tolsa GE, Vidal P, Gutiérrez-Ferre V, Pellón R, Collado P. Activity-based anorexia alters hypothalamic POMC and orexin populations in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2023; 436:114055. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Hurley MM, Nawari AN, Chen VX, O'Brien SC, Sabir AI, Goodman EJ, Wiles LJ, Biswas A, Aston SA, Khambadkone SG, Tamashiro KL, Moran TH. Adolescent female rats recovered from the activity-based anorexia display blunted hedonic responding. Int J Eat Disord 2022; 55:1042-1053. [PMID: 35689569 PMCID: PMC9545546 DOI: 10.1002/eat.23752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE As patients with anorexia nervosa tend to "like" palatable tastants less than controls, we set out to model this preclinically by using the taste reactivity test (TRT) to assess hedonic state in rats following weight restoration from a bout of activity-based anorexia (ABA). METHOD Female rats (n = 31) were surgically implanted with an intraoral catheter, which allowed experimenters to assess baseline TRT to six tastants. Following baseline TRT, animals were either exposed to the activity-based anorexia condition (ABA; 1.5HR chow/ad lib wheel until 25% weight loss), kept sedentary (SED; ad lib chow/locked wheel), given access to running wheels with ad lib chow access (RW; ad lib chow/wheel), or were body weight matched to the ABA group (BWM; restricted chow/locked wheel). Following 25% weight loss, wheels were locked and food returned to ABA rats. Paired RW groups had their wheels locked and paired BWM rats were given ad lib access to food. Animals were given 10 days to recover prior to a second TRT. Videos were analyzed for liking (tongue protrusions) and disliking (gape) behaviors. RESULTS The ABA group displayed a significant within-subject reduction in cumulative lick responses to water and 1 M sucrose. Additionally, we found the SED and ABA group displayed a significant within-subject reduction in cumulative lick responses to .1 M sucrose. Positive hedonic responses did not decline in either the BWM or the RW groups. DISCUSSION The data show a novel phenomenon that a history of ABA results in an anhedonia phenotype that mirrors aspects of AN. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Patients recovered from anorexia nervosa report anhedonia, or the lack of pleasure in consuming palatable foods. Unfortunately, the biological mechanism underpinning anhedonia in anorexia nervosa is not well understood. The current study assessed hedonic state in adolescent female rats prior to and 10 days recovered following the activity-based anorexia paradigm. Age-matched, running wheel-matched and body weight-matched control groups were also tested at the same time points.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew M. Hurley
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Ashraf N. Nawari
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Victoria X. Chen
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Shannon C. O'Brien
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Aliasgher I. Sabir
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Ethan J. Goodman
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Lucas J. Wiles
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Aditi Biswas
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Sean Andrew Aston
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Seva G. Khambadkone
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Kellie L. Tamashiro
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Timothy H. Moran
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral SciencesThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
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Milton LK, Patton T, O'Keeffe M, Oldfield BJ, Foldi CJ. In pursuit of biomarkers for predicting susceptibility to activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats. Int J Eat Disord 2022; 55:664-677. [PMID: 35302253 PMCID: PMC9311799 DOI: 10.1002/eat.23705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Identifying risk factors that contribute to the development of anorexia nervosa (AN) is critical for the implementation of early intervention strategies. Anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and immune dysfunction may be involved in the development of AN; however, their direct influence on susceptibility to the condition remains unclear. Here, we used the activity-based anorexia (ABA) model to examine whether activity, anxiety-like behavior, compulsive behavior, and circulating immune markers predict the subsequent development of pathological weight loss. METHOD Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 44) underwent behavioral testing before exposure to ABA conditions after which they were separated into susceptible and resistant subpopulations. Blood was sampled before behavioral testing and after recovery from ABA to screen for proinflammatory cytokines. RESULTS Rats that were vulnerable to pathological weight loss differed significantly from resistant rats on all key ABA parameters. While the primary measures of anxiety-like or compulsive behavior were not shown to predict vulnerability to ABA, increased locomotion and anxiety-like behavior were both associated with the extent of weight loss in susceptible but not resistant animals. Moreover, the change in expression of proinflammatory markers IL-4 and IL-6 evoked by ABA was associated with discrete vulnerability factors. Intriguingly, behavior related to risk assessment was shown to predict vulnerability to ABA. DISCUSSION We did not find undisputable behavioral or immune predictors of susceptibility to pathological weight loss in the ABA rat model. Future research should examine the role of cognition in the development of ABA, dysfunction of which may represent an endophenotype linking anorectic, anxiety-like and compulsive behavior. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE Anorexia nervosa (AN) has among the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric disorders and treatment options remain limited in their efficacy. Understanding what types of risk factors contribute to the development of AN is essential for implementing early intervention strategies. This study describes how some of the most common psychological features of AN could be used to predict susceptibility to pathological weight loss in a well-established animal model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Karina Milton
- Department of PhysiologyMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia,Monash Biomedicine Discovery InstituteClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Timothy Patton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and ImmunityUniversity of MelbourneElizabethVictoriaAustralia
| | - Meredith O'Keeffe
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Brian John Oldfield
- Department of PhysiologyMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia,Monash Biomedicine Discovery InstituteClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Claire Jennifer Foldi
- Department of PhysiologyMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia,Monash Biomedicine Discovery InstituteClaytonVictoriaAustralia
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Adolescent female rats prone to the activity based anorexia (ABA) paradigm have altered hedonic responses and cortical astrocyte density compared to resistant animals. Appetite 2022; 168:105666. [PMID: 34461195 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Anhedonia, which in part involves the lack of pleasure in consuming palatable food, is a long-lasting symptom observed in patients both when acutely ill and when long term recovered from Anorexia Nervosa. The neurocircuitry underlying this phenomenon is not well understood. Here we use the preclinical activity-based anorexia (ABA) model in adolescent female rats to assess the impact of excessive exercise, limited food intake and acute weight loss, on adolescent female rat orofacial responding to intraoral sucrose, as measured by the taste reactivity test (TRT). Animals were identified as either prone or resistant to this paradigm based on a weight loss criterion. Measures of food intake, running wheel activity, taste reactivity and medial prefrontal cortex astrocyte expression were compared across groups. METHODS Adolescent female rats implanted with an intraoral catheter were given a TRT using 1 M (M) sucrose at baseline, max weight loss (25% weight loss from start of ABA or 7 full days on the paradigm) or 10 days recovered from the ABA paradigm. Animals were sacrificed after the final TRT and astrocyte density was measured via immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Animals resistant to the ABA paradigm ran less than prone animals during the ABA period. Additionally, we found that resistant animals displayed more cumulative 'liking' responses to sucrose compared to prone animals at maximum weight loss. Finally, we found prone animals 10-days recovered from ABA had reduced medial prefrontal cortex astrocyte density compared to levels in resistant animals. DISCUSSION Rats presented with the physiological challenge of the ABA paradigm either adapt their behavior to stabilize their body weight (i.e. resistant), or rapidly lose weight (i.e. prone). Furthermore, we found that prone animals have reduced orofacial responding to 1 M sucrose at maximum weight loss compared to responses in resistant animals, and this anhedonia-like behavior may be a result of reduced astrocyte density that affects cortical function.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The goal of this review is to describe how emerging technological developments in pre-clinical animal research can be harnessed to accelerate research in anorexia nervosa (AN). RECENT FINDINGS The activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm, the best characterized animal model of AN, combines restricted feeding, excessive exercise, and weight loss. A growing body of evidence supports the idea that pathophysiological weight loss in this model is due to cognitive inflexibility, a clinical feature of AN. Targeted manipulations that recapitulate brain changes reported in AN - hyperdopaminergia or hyperactivity of cortical inputs to the nucleus accumbens - exacerbate weight loss in the ABA paradigm, providing the first evidence of causality. The power of preclinical research lies in the ability to assess the consequences of targeted manipulations of neuronal circuits that have been implicated in clinical research. Additional paradigms are needed to capture other features of AN that are not seen in ABA.
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