Reward retraining: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel treatment approach for transdiagnostic binge eating.

Objective: Low reward response to conventionally rewarding stimuli and high reward response to food (i.e., reward imbalance), has been supported as a maintenance factor for eating disorders characterized by binge eating.

Reward mediates the association between engagement in noneating activities and state body dissatisfaction: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Objective: Momentary worsening (i.e., greater than one's average levels) of state body dissatisfaction (BD) has been implicated as a proximal risk factor for eating disorder (ED) behaviors in binge-spectrum EDs.

Anhedonia in cognitive behavioral therapy for binge eating spectrum disorders.

Anhedonia is theorized as being relevant to binge eating spectrum disorders (BESDs) by palatable foods substituting the pleasure typically obtained from day-to-day activities. The current study examined whether anhedonia is associated with eating pathology at baseline and whether it predicts cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes alone and when controlling for non-anhedonia depression symptoms. Ninety-three individuals from two randomized controlled trials completed the Eating Disorder Examination and Beck Depression Inventory-II at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment.

Reciprocal association between session-by-session change in overvaluation of shape and weight and session-by-session change in bulimia nervosa symptoms during cognitive behavior therapies.

Overvaluation of shape and weight (OSW) is supported as an important mechanism underlying improvement in bulimia nervosa (BN) during behavioral therapies (CBTs). It is not yet clear, however, whether changes in OSW temporally precede and prospectively predict changes in BN symptoms during CBTs, limiting the ability to establish causality. The present study is the first to examine whether session-by-session changes in OSW prospectively predict session-by-session changes in BN symptoms during CBTs and clinical outcomes at the end-of-treatment.

Changes in affect from non-eating activity engagement as predictors of loss of control eating: an ecological momentary assessment study.

Purpose: Loss of control eating (LOCE) is supported as a maladaptive regulation strategy for high negative affect (NA) and low positive affect (PA). Yet, little is known about the day-to-day activities outside of eating that may precipitate such changes in affect and impact risk for LOCE. The current ecological momentary assessment study sought to examine whether (1) low NA and high PA at a given survey would prospectively predict lower likelihood of a LOCE episode at the next survey, and (2) having recently engaged in various non-eating activities would be associated with changes in average NA and PA levels at the same survey.

Real-time predictors of body dissatisfaction in females with binge eating: an ecological momentary assessment study.

Purpose: Body dissatisfaction (BD) is supported as a maintenance factor for eating disorders (EDs) characterized by binge eating (BE). Although it is traditionally conceptualized as a trait construct, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies have shown that it fluctuates within-day and that momentary elevations in BD prospectively predict near-time ED behaviors. However, less is known about the contextual factors that precipitate these fluctuations in BD.

The Reward Re-Training protocol: A novel intervention approach designed to alter the reward imbalance contributing to binge eating during COVID-19.

Reduced exposure to social reward during the COVID-19 pandemic may result in both reduced reward response to day-to-day life activities and elevated reward response to substances or naturally rewarding stimuli (e.g., food).

The project COMPASS protocol: Optimizing mindfulness and acceptance-based behavioral treatment for binge-eating spectrum disorders.

Outcomes from cognitive behavioral therapy for binge-eating spectrum disorders are suboptimal, possibly due in part to deficits in self-regulation (i.e., the ability to control behavior in pursuit of long-term goals despite internal challenges).

Hedonic hunger as a mechanism of action in outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa.

Objective: Hedonic hunger (i.e., the motivation to consume palatable foods in the absence of an energy deficit) has been associated with the onset and maintenance of loss of control (LOC) eating.

Qualitative perceptions of and preferences for the research process among patients with eating disorders.

Objective: Low participation and retention rates are persistent problems in eating disorder (ED) research. In order to improve the research process, this study used a qualitative approach to examine factors promoting and limiting research study participation among patients with EDs, and their preferences during research.

Method: Five 90-min focus groups were conducted with adult women (N = 29) enrolled at a residential ED treatment facility.