Taking better advantage of the activity-based anorexia model
Dr Claire Foldi’s main area of research is on a killer psychiatric disorder, anorexia nervosa (AN). She is investigating biological drivers of the condition, establishing the impact of specific genetic, metabolic and neurobiological factors that predispose individuals to pathological body weight loss, in order to facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Dr Foldi has published an opinion piece in Trends in Molecular Medicine, asking how the research community can better use animal models to gain an improved understanding of the biological bases for AN in order to develop new treatments.
She said, “The controversial quote “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, provides a chilling insight into the psyche of anorexia nervosa. This life-threatening, relentless pursuit of weight loss is driven by a dysregulation of multiple biological systems that sees sufferers hover on the brink of starvation for months and even years.”
Dr Foldi suggests combining techniques to manipulate and record specific aspects of brain function with ethologically relevant readouts of animal behaviour including reinforcement learning paradigms. She said, “A challenge in translational research is comparing behaviours across species, in this case, rats and humans. Our group uses the activity-based anorexia (ABA) model, which displays many of the same behaviours typical of AN, including hyperactivity despite energy deficit and cognitive inflexibility.
“Large scale genetic screens have revealed clear biological underpinnings for AN and suggest that both psychiatric and metabolic factors are causal in the development of this condition,” Dr Foldi said.
“Animal models can help reveal factors that are causal to the development of AN symptoms, and with the tools now available to link genetic, metabolic, neurobiological and behavioural phenotypes, we have a unique opportunity to exploit the ABA model to better understand the drivers of AN and develop novel treatments.”
Many questions remain regarding the precise mechanisms that predispose individuals to developing AN and how these could be better targeted to improve treatment outcomes.
Dr Foldi said, “The ABA model is well placed to help answer some of these questions, provided we utilise the model effectively and in consultation with diverse research disciplines.”
She said, “I also highlight some barriers to translation of research findings into clinical practice and a proposal to bridge research disciplines in order to have real impact for individuals living with anorexia nervosa and their families. We have to have a better understanding of the biological causes of this devastating condition.”
Read the full paper published in Trends in Molecular Medicine, titled Taking better advantage of the activity-based anorexia models.
DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2023.11.011
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Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Spanning seven discovery programs across Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Development and Stem Cells, Infection, Immunity, Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity, and Neuroscience, Monash BDI is one of the largest biomedical research institutes in Australia. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.