Studies led by Prof. Noam Weinbach from the University of Haifa indicate two processes that may contribute to the persistence of anorexia: strong activation of the response inhibition mechanism in the face of high-calorie food, and a rapid transition to preoccupation with food when experiencing a negative emotion.
Eating Disorders They are not limited to a decision to eat more or less, nor are they a simple expression of “willpower.” They are complex mental disorders that involve emotions, thoughts, body image, habits, and brain mechanisms that direct attention and behavior.Anorexia nervosaFor example, a person may continue to restrict their eating even when it harms their health, relationships, and functioning.
Studies led by Prof. Noam Weinbach, a clinical psychologist and faculty member at the School of Psychological Sciences atHaifa University, seek to determine what cognitive processes allow these eating patterns to persist. The findings point to a complex picture: Adolescents People with anorexia are not necessarily less flexible or have better self-control in every situation. The differences appear mainly when they are exposed to food-related stimuli or experience emotional distress.
When the brain hits the brakes
One of the mechanisms examined is “Response delay” – The ability to stop an action that has already begun or suppress an automatic response. We use this mechanism many times throughout the day: when we avoid pressing the wrong button, stop a sentence before saying something we might regret, or ignore a momentary temptation.
The study involved 30 adolescents with anorexia nervosa and 30 healthy adolescents. The participants performed a computerized task in which they were asked to respond quickly to pictures of foods, but to stop responding when a certain cue appeared. The pictures included high-calorie and low-calorie foods.
The adolescents with anorexia were better able to inhibit their response than the control group after being exposed to pictures of high-calorie foods. In contrast, when low-calorie foods were shown, no similar difference was found between the groups. The researchers concluded that this was not a better general inhibition ability, but a focused response to stimuli that were perceived as threatening or particularly charged for those with anorexia.
The possible implication is that the sight of high-calorie food automatically activates a kind of powerful cognitive “brake.” The same mechanism may help adolescents with anorexia avoid eating for long periods of time, even when the body needs food. Therefore, an ability that at first glance appears to be successful self-control may be part of the mechanism that maintains the disorder.
No general inflexibility
Another pattern attributed to anorexia is mental rigidity: difficulty switching between tasks, changing a rule of action, or adapting one's thinking to a new situation. However, studies that have examined Cognitive flexibility In adolescents with anorexia, results have been inconsistent.
In another study, the researchers examined whether the difficulty is not fixed, but depends on the emotional state and the type of information that the participants are required to process. The study involved 47 adolescents with anorexia and 41 healthy adolescents. They performed a task that required them to switch between classifying food-related and non-food-related images. In one experiment, the researchers induced a negative emotion and in another, they maintained a neutral emotional state.
There was no evidence that adolescents with anorexia had general difficulty switching between tasks. However, after being aroused by a negative emotion, they switched more effectively from a non-food task to a food task. No similar change was found in the control group.
The finding does not necessarily suggest that adolescents with anorexia are “better” at food-related tasks. It suggests that when distressed, their thoughts may quickly and almost automatically shift to food. Rather than a general difficulty in changing the direction of their thinking, there appears to be a preferred direction: negative emotions toward food-related thoughts.
Self-feeding circuit
The two studies describe different processes, but they may complement each other. On the one hand, high-calorie foods activate a strong stopping mechanism, encouraging avoidance of eating. On the other hand, negative emotions Attention is quickly directed to food and thoughts related to it.
This can create a self-perpetuating cycle: emotional distress increases preoccupation with food, the preoccupation triggers fears and negative thoughts, which strengthen the stopping and avoidance mechanisms. Restricting eating can in turn increase preoccupation with food and emotional distress.
The findings also explain why trying to convince a person with anorexia to “just eat” doesn’t address the full problem. The behavior relies not only on a conscious decision, but also on automatic responses that become especially strong in certain emotional situations.
Adapt treatment to the situation
The researchers emphasize that cognitive functions must be examined in the context in which they operate. A person may function well on a neutral task, but respond completely differently when they are distressed or when the stimulus is related to the focus of the disorder.
This may lead to future treatments that combine nutritional rehabilitation with work on emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and the automatic responses that certain foods trigger. However, the studies do not prove that these mechanisms alone cause anorexia, and cannot be used as diagnostic tools in themselves. They add a layer to the understanding of how the disorder is maintained, and may help develop more tailored and precise treatments.
Prof. Weinbach studies the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that maintain mental disorders in adolescence and early adulthood. His research focuses on eating disorders, body image, emotion regulation, and the links between emotional states and eating patterns. He was previously a co-founder of the Eating Disorders Treatment Unit at Soroka Medical Center, and is active in the field of eating disorder treatment and research in Israel.
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