The Neuroscience of Body Image

1. The Neuroscience of Body Image

2. The Neuroscience of Body Image • Overview • How does the brain process body image? • Is there a difference between the sexes? • Prevalence of eating disorders • Brain functioning in eating disorders • Is there a difference between the sexes? • Clinical experience with body image

3. The Neuroscience of Body Image

4. The Neuroscience of Body Image • Different ideal shapes for boys & girls • Men more interested in shape than weight • Women more likely to self describe as fat, diet more • Women more likely to self assess as overweight, men as underweight compared to objective standards • Men see underweight as being bad, women as good. • In one study, 4% women wanted to become bigger compared to 47% of women wanting to slim down. • Among 18 yr old boys, equal numbers want to be larger and smaller • Dieting normal in girls but not in boys

5. The Neuroscience of Body Image • Univ. of London study- 111 boys and 124 girls • ages 16-18, in school • mean body wgt of girls 57 kgs(125 lbs) • mean body wgt of boys 69 kgs (152 lbs) • EAT, self esteem, reason for exercise, contour drawing surveys completed. • Furnham et al, J Psychol 2002

7. The Neuroscience of Body Image

8. The Neuroscience of Body Image • 80% of girls AND boys dissatisfied with their weight. • However, nearly as many boys wished to be heavier (36%) as thinner (43%) • Only 9 girls wished to be heavier; 75% chose an ideal figure thinner than theirs • Girls/women exercise to lose weight, boys/men not necessarily.

9. The Neuroscience of Body Image Downing et al, Science 2001

10. The Neuroscience of Body Image Downing et al, Science 2001

11. The Neuroscience of Body Image Devue et al, Brain Research, 2007

12. The Neuroscience of Body Image

13. The Neuroscience of Body Image • Face recognition vs body recognition • Right frontal cortex, insula and cingulategyrus main regions in self recognition. • Posterior sensory areas versus more anterior (evolved, neocortex) association areas.

14. The Neuroscience of Body Image Anorexic patients fMRI ; Neuropsychol 2008

15. The Neuroscience of Body Image

16. The Neuroscience of Body Image • Self versus other images • 10 AN women, 10 normal controls. • Difference: no activation of the insula and the attentional areas of brain when viewing self • Prior study showed activation of amygdala in AN patients • Role of the amygdala and insular cortex • AN suppress emotional & perceptual processing

17. The Neuroscience of Body Image • 13 men and 13 women • left amygdala activated only in women • left prefrontal cortex and hippocampus activated only in men • Shirao et al, 2005

18. The Neuroscience of Body Image

19. The Neuroscience of Body Image

20. The wandering vagus nerve

21. The Neuroscience of Body Image • 1998 metanalysis of 222 studies over 50 years Feingold & Mazella, 1998 • Pre-1970, 70s, 80s, 90s • Ages 12-14, 14-16, 16-18, 18-23, 23-35, >35 • N= 37,627 • Results: • body satisfaction: men vs women • Men vs women, self assesment on looks • “The analysis shows dramatic increases in the numbers of women among individuals who have poor body image. Moreover, these trends were found across multiple conceptualizations of body image, including self-judgments of physical attractiveness.”

22. The Neuroscience of Body Image • 54 cases of eating disorders associated with brain lesions • Simple changes occur w hypothalamic lesions • AN and BN type changes occur with right frontal and temporal damage • Uher & Treasure, J NeurolNeurosurg 2005

23. The Neuroscience of Body Image

24. The Neuroscience of Body Image

26. The Neuroscience of Body Image • The plastic brain • Shaped by experiences and memories • The phantom limb syndrome • Change the brain, control the eating disorder • Change the brain, change society