Background: The newest finding in neuroscience that pertain to understanding the pathophysiology eating disorders will be discussed. The neuroscience findings will then be translated into treatment of eating disorders using a multidisciplinary approach. The treatment approaches will focus on nutritional rehabilitation, therapeutic interventions, transmagnetic stimulation, and psychotropic medications.
Objectives: 1. Explain set shifting difficulties in eating disorders and be able to create a treatment plan that targets set shifting difficulties. 2. Discuss the effects of nutrition, malnutrition, and refeeding on the brain and how to use a nutritional rehabilitation program to help to regulate mood. 3. Describe differing learning and reward mechanism in different eating disorders and the corresponding neuroscience tracts from fMRI and how those deficits can be ameliorated using TMS, medications, and therapeutic modalities including MBT, CBT, exposure response prevention, and DBT.
This presentation will highlight recent neuroscience findings in eating disorders. The focus will be on adolescent brain development and how this makes this a time period vulnerable to the development of an eating disorder. Set-shifting difficulties will be discussed as this appears to be almost universal finding in eating disorder patients. The presentation will discuss differing learning and reward mechanisms in eating disorders patients compared to non-eating disorder controls. It will look at the differing learning and reward patterns found in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder with a focus on the corresponding alterations in function in different brain regions. These findings will be used to help explain symptoms clinically seen in eating disorder patients and their vulnerability to other mental health difficulties including substance use disorders and maladaptive behaviors such as non-suicidal self-injury. Finally, we will discuss how neuroscience findings can be translated into treatment modalities for treating eating disorders including nutrition, medications (Prozac, Zyprexa), TMS, nutritional interventions, and therapeutic interventions (CBT, MBT, DBT). There will be an in-depth presentation of the effects of malnutrition on the brain, the interaction between nutrition, mood and emotional regulation and how nutrition can be utilized in treatment to help with mood and emotional regulation. The goal is for attendees to have an understanding of brain changes in function and structure that occur in eating disorder patients. Most importantly attendees will understand how these changes in neurofunction can drive the appropriate choice of interventions to be used to target the symptoms as eating disorders are truly brain disorders.
This presentation will highlight recent neuroscience findings in eating disorders. The focus will be on adolescent brain development and how this makes this a time period vulnerable to the development of an eating disorder. Set-shifting difficulties will be discussed as this appears to be almost universal finding in eating disorder patients. The presentation will discuss differing learning and reward mechanisms in eating disorders patients compared to non-eating disorder controls. It will look at the differing learning and reward patterns found in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder with a focus on the corresponding alterations in function in different brain regions. These findings will be used to help explain symptoms clinically seen in eating disorder patients and their vulnerability to other mental health difficulties including substance use disorders and maladaptive behaviors such as non-suicidal self-injury. Finally, we will discuss how neuroscience findings can be translated into treatment modalities for treating eating disorders including nutrition, medications (Prozac, Zyprexa), TMS, nutritional interventions, and therapeutic interventions (CBT, MBT, DBT). There will be an in-depth presentation of the effects of malnutrition on the brain, the interaction between nutrition, mood and emotional regulation and how nutrition can be utilized in treatment to help with mood and emotional regulation. The goal is for attendees to have an understanding of brain changes in function and structure that occur in eating disorder patients. Most importantly attendees will understand how these changes in neurofunction can drive the appropriate choice of interventions to be used to target the symptoms as eating disorders are truly brain disorders.
Nicole Garber graduated from Saint Louis University School of Medicine, she completed her general psychiatry residency training at Emory University School of Medicine, and completed a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Baylor School of Medicine. She began to work with Baylor at the Menninger Clinic. She is currently the medical director at The Meadows Ranch. She is extensively trained in DBT, TF-CBT, mentalization based treatment, and is currently in child and adolescent psychoanalytic training.
Sindhu Idicula graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine and completed both her general psychiatry residency training and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine. She continued as faculty there where she spent time caring for patients with eating disorders. She is actively involved in education, teaching at the medical school and for residents. She is also deeply interested in psychotherapy, and has pursued training in DBT, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and is currently a clinical candidate in adult psychoanalytic training.
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Kimberly Collins, RDN
Kimberly Collins graduated from Michigan State University and obtained her Masters in Nutrition with emphasis in counseling from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI. Her extensive experience includes working as a Certified Weight Management Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and working with both adolescent and adult clients as a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian. She provides individual outpatient counseling and works at Remuda Ranch at levels of eating disorder treatment.
