Eating disorders

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a condition in which the ability to resist food - or to stop eating once an episode of overeating has begun - is impaired. BED is the most prevalent eating disorder and typically begins in adolescence. However, it is a chronic problem, lasting for many years after onset and contributing to a variety of serious psychiatric and metabolic health problems.

While BED has received relatively little attention from neuroscientific researchers, there are striking parallels between BED and substance use disorders, which also typically develop in adolescence and have been the subject of extensive research. This has shown that maladaptive reward memories are present in drug addiction. Given the overlap in the behaviours, symptoms, age of onset and comorbidity between drug addiction and BED, these reward memories also likely play a key role in BED.

Dr Sunjeev Kamboj has been awarded a Medical Research Foundation-MRC research grant to explore the use of new behavioural techniques to help treat BED, focusing on ‘re-writing’ maladaptive reward memories. The findings from this study could in future support people seeking help for BED.