USC experts discover brain differences in young children with binge eating disorder
Brain scans of children ages 9-10 with a type of eating disorder that
causes uncontrollable overeating showed differences in gray matter
density compared to their unaffected peers, according to a USC-led
study.
Binge eating disorder, which affects about 3-5% of the
U.S. population, is characterized by frequent episodes of eating large
amounts of food and a sense of having no control over the behavior. The
study’s findings suggest that abnormal development in the brain’s
centers for reward and inhibition may play a role.
“In
children with binge eating disorder, we see abnormality in brain
development in brain regions specifically linked to reward and
impulsivity, or the ability to inhibit reward,” said lead author Stuart
Murray, Della Martin Associate Professor of Psychiatry and the
Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, where he
serves as director of the Eating Disorders Program.
“These kids
have a very, very heightened reward sensitivity, especially toward
calorically dense, high-sugar foods. The findings underscore the fact
that this is not a lack of discipline for these kids.”
Pandemic saw increase in eating disorders among young people.
Experts
say eating disorders in young people soared during the pandemic, along
with steep increases in hospitalizations. Social isolation, stress,
disruption of routine and a social media-fueled quest for perfection all
exacerbated disorders such as anorexia, muscle dysmorphia and binge
eating.
Binge eating disorder puts people at risk for obesity,
metabolic syndrome, abnormal cardiac function and suicidal thoughts.
Treatment goals include reducing the frequency of binge eating episodes
by removing “trigger” foods, as well as addressing underlying anxiety or
depression. Treatment with medication and talk therapy is effective
about only half the time, Murray said.
For this study, Murray and
his colleagues analyzed brain scans and other data from 71 children
with diagnosed binge eating disorder and 74 children without binge
eating disorder, who are part of a large longitudinal study called the
Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. That study includes
data of 11,875 children ages 9-10 who were enrolled in 2016-2018 and
recruited from 21 sites around the U.S.
In the children with
binge eating disorder, they saw elevations in gray matter density in
areas that are typically “pruned” during healthy brain development.
Synaptic pruning, a development phase that occurs between ages 2 and 10,
eliminates synapses that are no longer used, making the brain more
efficient. Disturbed synaptic pruning is linked to a number of
psychiatric disorders.
“This study suggests to me that binge
eating disorder is wired in the brain, even from a very, very early
age,” Murray said. “The question that we don’t know, which is something
that we will address in time, is whether successful treatment of binge
eating disorder in kids helps correct brain development. The prognosis
of almost all psychiatric diseases is better if you can treat them in
childhood.”