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Animal Models of Eating Disorders pp 281–290Cite as

Activity-Based Anorexia in the Rat

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Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 74))

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening psychiatric disorder characterized by unrelenting self-starvation, severe weight loss, and hyperactivity. Limited treatment efficacy and high rates of mortality provide strong justification for using animal models to study the biological mechanisms that promote the development and maintenance of these maladaptive behaviors. Activity-based anorexia is an animal model that combines restricted access to food with unlimited access to a running wheel. This programmed food restriction promotes hyperactivity that results in dramatic weight loss and increasingly greater levels of hyperactivity, thereby resembling a maladaptive behavioral pattern similar to some individuals with anorexia nervosa. This chapter describes the methodology for inducing activity-based anorexia in Sprague-Dawley rats, with a particular emphasis on adolescent female rats, given the predominately age- and sex-specific onset of anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole C. Barbarich-Marsteller Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Nicole C. Barbarich-Marsteller Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole C. Barbarich-Marsteller Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, S. Newell Dr. 100, Gainesville, 32610, Florida, USA

    Nicole M. Avena

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Barbarich-Marsteller, N.C. (2013). Activity-Based Anorexia in the Rat. In: Avena, N. (eds) Animal Models of Eating Disorders. Neuromethods, vol 74. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-104-2_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-104-2_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-103-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-104-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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