What will the future of psychobiological research in eating disorders look like?

Abstract

The technical progress of brain imaging methods in recent years have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of eating disorders. However, the identification and detection of underlying neurocircuits is complicated by the aetiological heterogeneity of clinically and psychopathologically defined eating disorder phenotypes. It is against this background that renowned scientists advocate that neurocircuit function should be the starting point for the upward investigation of behavioural responses and the downward research of constitutional genetic and molecular biological factors. According to this theory, psychobiological research of disturbed eating behaviour will follow to a greater extent a transdiagnostic and dimensional approach, and will be based on well characterized neurocircuits in the future. Furthermore, the latest findings in brain research will allow to investigate directly the interaction between neurocircuit function and energy metabolism in eating disorders. The typical onset of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in puberty suggest that age related biological and psychosocial alterations in this phase of life serve as a trigger for the beginning of the disease. Therefore, a greater integration of the developmental perspective as well as (epi-) genetic aspects in psychobiological research will be of great scientific interest in the future.