PSYC 3388 Neurobiology of Eating and Eating Disorders

This course will review the neural mechanisms controlling food intake, and body weight regulation under normal circumstances and in eating disorders. Eating is not only controlled by metabolic signals (e.g., hormones, peptides), but also by extrinsic or environmental factors that are not directly related to energy balance (e.g., stress, emotion, social/cultural factors). Likewise the brain systems regulating hunger are associated with networks mediating stress, reward, emotion, and learning and memory. The course will explore the current neuroscience findings from animal models, and human studies relevant to appetite, regulation of eating, and eating disorders.