How Does Chronic Pain Change Eating Behaviors
A team of neuroscientists examined this connection further in a recent study. They suggested that changes to the brain’s limbic system—an area associated with emotions and decision making—may contribute to obesity prevalence in chronic pain patients. The nucleus accumbens, a structure in the brain that mediates between motivation and decision-making, could have major impact on the eating behaviors in chronic pain patients, according to Paul Geha, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester and lead author of the study....