Ingestive Behavior

Ingestive Behavior
INTRODUCTION
This unit discusses the biological basis of hunger and thirst. The central concept for this unit is the idea of homeostasis (Carlson, 2014). Homeostasis is a process that allows the body to maintain itself at an optimal level. Homeostasis means that for each bodily process (system variable), there is an optimal value (set point) that is monitored by a detector. Should the detector notice that the system variable has gone too far astray from its set point, a correction must be made to restore homeostasis. This simple process should govern our ingestive behavior (eating and drinking). The individual mechanisms that govern hunger and thirst are different—but the same general process is applied to both drive states.
A purely biological explanation of hunger and thirst, however, does not fully explore the factors that govern ingestive behavior. For example, if weight were simply maintained by an easily regulative homeostatic controller, obesity and eating disorders would be unlikely to exist. Instead, it seems that cultural and cognitive factors can also exert a powerful influence on these behaviors.
OBJECTIVES
To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:
Understand the biological (hormonal, anatomical, and physiological) aspects of ingestive behavior as they relate to your specialty.
Analyze ethical issues related to ingestive behaviors for treatment of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating).
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Collapse All
Toggle Drawer
[u06s1] Unit 6 Study 1
Studies
Readings
Read the following:
Carlson, N. R. (2014). Foundations of behavioral neuroscience (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN: 9780205940240.
Chapter 11, “Ingestive Behavior,” pages 266–297, in your course text.
Weltens, N., Zhao, D., & Oudenhove, L. V. (2014). Where is the comfort in comfort foods? Mechanisms linking fat signaling, reward, and emotion. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 26(3), 303–315.
Wollburg, E., Meyer, B., Osen, B., & Löwe, B. (2013). Psychological change mechanisms in anorexia nervosa treatments: How much do we know?. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(7), 762–773.
Brambilla, F., Grave, R. D., Amianto, F., & Fassino, S. (2014). Lack of efficacy of psychological and pharmacological treatments of disorders of eating behavior: Neurobiological background. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 1–14.
Keel, P. K., & Forney, K. J. (2013). Psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46(5), 433–439.
Rhea, D. J., & Thatcher, W. G. (2013). Ethnicity, ethnic identity, self-esteem, and at-risk eating disordered behavior differences of urban adolescent females. Eating Disorders, 21(3), 223–237.
**ASSIGNMENT**
The Drive States
To prepare for this assignment, complete the following:
Choose one of the drive states—sleep, reproductive, or ingestive (eating)—that is most relevant to your professional interests or goals.
Look for peer-reviewed research articles on the topic. You will need at least three relevant resources to use in this assignment to support your work.
Requirements
For the drive state you have selected, complete the following:
Describe the biological mechanisms involved in this drive.
Explain how the drive state affects behavior.
Analyze the social and cultural factors that can affect the drive state.
Analyze the ethical issues faced by researchers studying the drive state.
Choose a scenario from within your specialization and describe how an individual’s problems with a drive state would impact his or her sphere of activity (for example, athlete, mental health client, employee, student, substance abuser client, professional colleague, a consultant’s client, et cetera). What evidence-based intervention or coping mechanism would you recommend?
Additional Requirements
Include a title page and reference page.
Number of pages: 4–6.
At least 3 current scholarly or professional resources.
APA format.
Times New Roman font, 12 pt.
Double-spaced.
Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.
Resources
**