College of Arts and Sciences Family Weekend 2024

Beyond the Scale: Targeting Compulsive Eating with Sensory Satiety

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a prevalent psychological condition characterized by episodes of excessive food consumption and loss of control of eating behavior. These episodes can result in significant distress, which imposes a substantial mental burden on individuals. This research aims to differentiate BED from non-BED eating behaviors and develop a robust mouse model to explore underlying mechanisms and potential treatments. We designed a 9-day protocol to induce binge-eating behaviors in mice during time-restricted sessions of access to a palatable high-fat diet (HFD). Mice were first trained to press a lever for a sucrose reward under fixed and variable schedules. They then underwent the binge-eating protocol, during which they exhibited an escalation in food intake consistent with other BED rodent models. BED is associated with habitual and compulsive behaviors. To evaluate potential analogs of this phenotype in our mouse model, we designed tests to measure the animals’ punishment resistance and responses to reward devaluation in the operant chambers. With the development of this operant model, we aim to create a model of BED-associated compulsive and habitual behavior, which holds promise for offering insights into the disorder and for evaluating treatments. This research has established a mouse model that mirrors human BED as well as other rodent models, providing a valuable tool for understanding binge eating mechanisms and testing interventions. 

 

PRESENTED BY
Other
College of Arts & Sciences 2026
Advised By
Michelle Awh
Nicholas Smith
PRESENTED BY
Other
Penn FERBS and the Department of Biology
College of Arts & Sciences 2026
Advised By
Michelle Awh
Nicholas Smith

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