Utilizing Amino Acids for Muscle Growth and Maintenance
Summary: Restricting a limb and forcing the use of one limb can lead to growth in that limb.
Mice and humans can utilize amino acids ingested early in the day better for muscle hypertrophy and growth or maintenance of muscle, which is important for preventing injury and cognitive and metabolic deficits as we age.
Early Protein Intake for Muscle Hypertrophy
Summary: Ingesting protein and amino acids early in the day can lead to more muscle hypertrophy than ingesting them late in the day.
This is important for maintaining muscle, cognitive and metabolic function as we age. The amino acid leucine is vital for muscle growth due to its relationship with the mTOR pathway.
Anorexia Nervosa: A Dangerous Eating Disorder
Summary: Anorexia nervosa, often referred to as anorexia, is the most prevalent and dangerous of all eating disorders, even surpassing depression in danger.
The untreated probability of death for anorexia is very high, making it the most dangerous psychiatric disorder. Anorexia is essentially a failure to eat enough to maintain a healthy weight, resulting in a general loss of muscle mass and other troubling symptoms.
Consequences of Untreated Anorexia
Summary: Untreated anorexia can lead to a range of serious consequences including general loss of muscle mass, low heart rate, low blood pressure, fainting, hair growth on the face, decreased bone density, loss of periods in females, and disrupted gut and immune functions.
These symptoms place the individual at high risk and can lead to a very high mortality rate if the anorexia is left untreated.
Biological Contribution to Anorexia Nervosa
Summary: The bombardment of images does not cause anorexia, but it does affect the psychological state of young people.
Anorexia nervosa has remained at the same prevalence for the last hundred to two hundred years, indicating a strong biological contribution to the condition. It affects one to two percent of women, often onset in adolescence or early twenties.
Disrupted Homeostatic and Reward Processes in Eating Disorders
Summary: Eating disorders can disrupt homeostatic and reward processes, leading to impaired decision making and a lack of response to signals indicating the need for food.
Individuals with anorexia may continue harmful behaviors despite knowing the consequences, while those with binge eating disorder may feel unable to control their impulses. Clinical intervention is often necessary to restore normal physiological and psychological responses to food.
Internal Reward System in Anorexic Brain
Summary: Anorexic individuals experience a shift in their brain that rewards them internally for avoiding certain foods and approaching others, rather than actively punishing themselves through deprivation.
As these behaviors become habitual, they experience a sense of reward and feel good, possibly due to the release of dopamine when approaching low-fat, low-calorie foods. This skewed brain circuitry leads them to feel better when avoiding certain foods, contrary to conventional psychological theories.
The Subconscious Influence on Behaviors and Perceptions
Summary: The portrayal of the female body shape in the media has led to body dysmorphias, linked to issues such as plastic surgery, steroid abuse, and drug abuse.
Understanding the neuroscientific aspects of these disorders is important. A powerful model for understanding behaviors and perceptions is to consider the interplay between thoughts, actions, and intervening processes.
Subconscious homeostatic and reward processes can disrupt our ability to act in accordance with what we know, leading to behaviors that are detrimental to us and others.
Internal Reward in Anorexic Brain
Summary: Anorexic individuals experience a shift in their brain that rewards them internally for avoiding certain foods and approaching others.
This shift is not based on deprivation or self-punishment, but rather on the development of habits that lead to a sense of reward, potentially through the release of dopamine. Their brain circuitry becomes skewed towards avoiding certain foods, and they feel better by doing so, even more than if they were eating in a healthy and weight-supporting manner.