This study looked at the regional blood flow in the brain (as determined by PET imaging) in a total of 16 women: 8 with anorexia nervosa (AN), and 8 without AN. They found that those with AN had an increase in blood flow to the medial temporal lobes bilaterally in response to stimulation with high calorie foods. The increase in blood flow was associated with an increase in heart rate and anxiety. Another comparison found that AN women had increased blood flow in the left occipital cortex and right temporo-occipital cortex when stimulated by high calorie versus low calorie foods. COMMENT: these differences in blood flow may both help in the early diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, and also help determine early in therapy whether or not the the patient's blood flow in the brain is normalizing.

Neural substrates of anorexia nervosa: a behavioral challenge study with positron emission tomography.

Gordon CM, Dougherty DD, Fischman AJ, Emans SJ, Grace E, Lamm R, Alpert NM, Majzoub JA, Rauch SL.

Divisions of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and Endocrinology, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

J Pediatr. 2001 Jul;139(1):51-7

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...t_uids=11445794