Degree Date
1-2016
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Activity-based anorexia (ABA) occurs when food access is limited and there is an opportunity to participate in physical activity for extended periods of time. These experiments address whether exposure to aversive stimuli during baseline and limited food access with running wheel access (ABA) phases influences weight loss in the ABA procedure. In the first experiment, twentyseven male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three conditions for extended periods across days: immobilization and light, elevated heights and control (no exposure to aversive stimuli). In the second experiment, ten rats were divided into two groups under a forced running condition. The results indicated that exposure to elevated heights during both baseline and the ABA phases decreased weight loss compared to the control group. Exposure to forced-running during the ABA phase only and pre-exposure phase only was found to produce the same weight loss as the control group. Subjects that were exposed to immobilization and light in both phases exhibited the greatest weight loss.
Citation
Burdzy, Anne Castley. "The Effect of Exposure to Aversive Stimuli on Activity Based Anorexia." PhD diss., Bryn Mawr College, 2016.