Abstract

RODRIGUEZ, Sonia; MATA, José L.  and  MORENO, Silvia. Psychophysiology of food craving and bulimia nervosa. Clínica y Salud [online]. 2007, vol.18, n.1, pp.99-118. ISSN 2174-0550.

Food craving is considered a normal experience although it is not necessarily associated with eating disorders. However, sometimes the irresistible desire to eat a certain food could become an immediate antecedent to binge eating. In bulimia nervosa, factors that are traditionally likely to trigger a binge eating are the negative affects and the practice of restrictive diets. Nevertheless, most studies are based on verbal measures and have not yet established any causal relationships between such antecedents and binge eating. Currently, experimental studies based on psychophysiological measures let us know what the motivational mechanisms involved in food craving and the complex interactions between restriction, emotion, food craving and binge eating are. This study summarizes advances in basic research that are paving the way for new avenues in prevention and psychological treatment of eating disorders.

Keywords : Food craving; Bulimia nervosa; Defensive reflexes; Heart rate variability.

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