RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Regional μ-Opioid Receptor Binding in Insular Cortex Is Decreased in Bulimia Nervosa and Correlates Inversely with Fasting Behavior JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 1349 OP 1351 VO 46 IS 8 A1 Badreddine Bencherif A1 Angela S. Guarda A1 Carlo Colantuoni A1 Hayden T. Ravert A1 Robert F. Dannals A1 J. James Frost YR 2005 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/46/8/1349.abstract AB 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.