PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Binge-eating disorder (BED) is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating (uncontrolled consumption
of large amounts of food in a short time period). BED is the most prevalent eating disorder in the U.S. and
globally, and it is associated with significant psychosocial impairment, and psychiatric and physical morbidity.
However, even with the most efficacious treatments, a substantial proportion of those with BED do not
experience good outcomes. Elucidating the biobehavioral mechanisms of binge eating is critical to gaining
better understanding of treatments’ effects and why they vary. In this vein, converging evidence suggests that
negative affect plays a significant role in binge eating in BED, but the link between negative affect and binge
eating behavior, including its neurobiological mechanisms, is not well understood. In contrast, a growing body
of literature suggests that stressors tend to increase preference for highly palatable food in the general
population, and that this phenomenon may involve mechanisms of increased food reward and decreased
cognitive control. Thus, the goal of the K23 research project is to examine whether stressors have greater
effects on (palatable) food choice and related blood oxygenation level dependent activity in young women with
BED, and whether these stressor-related effects relate to real-world binge eating behavior. Dovetailing with the
research aims, the K23 will provide training and mentored research experience in the following areas critical to
achieving the candidate’s long-term career goal of becoming an independent clinical investigator focused on
understanding the mechanisms underlying binge eating, with the ultimate goal of developing more tailored and
efficacious interventions: (1) neuroscience and neuroimaging; (2) the study of stressors and their effects; (3)
assessment of real-world stressors, affect, and eating; (4) responsible conduct of research; and (5) general
career development. To achieve these training goals, the candidate will attend relevant classes, seminars, and
scientific conferences and receive mentoring and training from an expert team including Dr. Diego Pizzagalli
(Primary Mentor), Drs. James Hudson and Shelly Greenfield (Co-Mentors), and Drs. Lisa Nickerson, Joanna
Steinglass, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, & Stephen Wonderlich (Advisors). The research and training will occur at
McLean Hospital, a psychiatric teaching hospital with a state-of-the-art imaging center and eating disorder
research program. McLean, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, provides an ideal environment due to its
clear institutional commitment to research and academic/professional training and its unique opportunities for
diverse clinical and basic researchers to collaborate to better understand the brain in illness and health. In
addition to providing the candidate essential training in designing and implementing patient-oriented research
with sophisticated behavioral and neurobiological measures, the K23 award will provide novel data on the role
of stressors and negative affect in BED. This line of research can yield critical information relevant to
developing more efficacious interventions for BED, a compelling target for improving public health.
