ACTIVITY ANOREXIA - AN INTERPLAY BETWEEN BASIC AND APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

The relationship between basic research with nonhumans and applied beh avior analysis is illustrated by our work on activity anorexia. When r ats are fed one meal a day and allowed to run on an activity wheel, th ey run excessively, stop eating, and die of starvation. Convergent evi dence, from several different research areas, indicates that the behav ior of these animals and humans who self-starve is functionally simila r. A biobehavioral theory of activity anorexia is presented that detai ls the cultural contingencies, behavioral processes, and physiology of anorexia. Diagnostic criteria and a three-stage treatment program for activity-based anorexia are outlined. The animal model permits basic research on anorexia that for practical and ethical reasons cannot be conducted with humans. Thus, basic research can have applied importanc e.