Therapeutic Impact of Dysfunction in Reward Processing in Anorexia Nervosa - A Mini Review

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a disorder having a chronic course which is refractory to treatment in many patients and is one psychiatric disorder where greatest mortality rate exists. Hence understanding the basic pathophysiology is essential. Recently the dysfunction of reward processing has been highlighted in many reviews along with aberrant appetite motivators like leptin, ghrelin, BDNF and endocannabonoids signal is believed to affect not only homeostatic food systems but also hedonic circuits, just like importance of dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin in reward processing is emphasized. This minireview tries to emphasize on the altered reward processing in such ED's and in formulating newer therapies in a disorder not having any specific treatment till date.