HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JNM Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bencherif, B. Articles by Frost, J. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bencherif, B. Articles by Frost, J. J.

Regional µ-Opioid Receptor Binding in Insular Cortex Is Decreased in Bulimia Nervosa and Correlates Inversely with Fasting Behavior

¹ Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
² Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
³ Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

The endogenous opioid system of the brain has been implicated in feeding behavior. Abnormal repeated activation of this system may constitute a neural substrate for the compulsive eating behavior observed in bulimia nervosa. This study examined the binding potential of the brain µ-opioid receptor (µ-OR) in bulimia nervosa. Methods: Eight women with bulimia nervosa and 8 female controls underwent brain MRI followed by ¹¹C-carfentanil PET. Voxel-based methods were used to assess group differences in µ-OR binding between controls and bulimic subjects and to correlate µ-OR binding with the frequency of recent self-reported abnormal eating behaviors in bulimic subjects. Results: µ-OR binding in the left insular cortex was less in bulimic subjects than in controls and correlated negatively with recent fasting behavior. Conclusion: Changes in µ-OR binding in the insula may be important in the pathogenesis or maintenance of the self-perpetuating behavioral cycle of bulimic subjects because the insula is the primary gustatory cortex and has repeatedly been implicated in the processing of the reward value of food.

Key Words: bulimia nervosa • µ-opioid receptor • ¹¹C-carfentanil • PET • insula

Related articles in JNM:

THIS MONTH IN JNM

JNM 2005 46: 8a-9a. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Henriksen and F. Willoch Imaging of opioid receptors in the central nervous system Brain, May 1, 2008; 131(5): 1171 - 1196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]