Binge Eating: A Transdiagnostic Psychopathology

This book provides a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of binge eating, which is characterized by the uncontrollable consumption of large amounts of food in a discrete time period. 

Written by experts on eating disorders, it first introduces the phenotype of binge eating, including its epidemiology and assessment. It then describes the underlying neurobiological alterations, drawing on cutting-edge animal models and human studies to do so. In addition, it extensively discusses current treatment models, including medication, psychotherapy, self-interventions and disease prevention. Lastly, an outlook on the future research agenda rounds out the coverage.

Given binge eating’s current status as an under-researched symptom, but one shared across many eating disorders, this book provides an up-to-date, integrative and comprehensive synthesis of recent research and offers a valuable reference for scientists and clinicians alike.

Guido K.W. Frank, M.D.

Dr. Frank is Board certified in Adult as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He earned his medical degree at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. He trained in psychosomatics at the Center for Behavioral Health Klinik Roseneck, Prien, Germany, and then received clinical and research training at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California San Diego, USA. He holds an appointment as professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Frank has done extensive post-graduate work including receiving research training in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. He has also received extensive certified training in cognitive behavioral and other psychotherapies. He is an expert consultant to local and national law firms. He has received multiple awards, including a NIH Minority Access to Research Career Program (NIMH) Mentor Recognition award and the first Eating Disorder Foundation Greg Hueni Memorial Award for excellence in research.

Dr. Frank has been funded through the National Institute of Mental Health and multiple private foundation grants for the past fifteen years to study in youth and adults biological domains that underlie eating disorder behavior. His research work has introduced computational modeling to the eating disorder field and his overarching goal is to develop translational research designs that bridge clinical presentation with neuroscience to develop more effective treatments.

Laura A. Berner, Ph.D.

Dr. Berner is a clinical psychologist interested in how cognitive neuroscience can help us better understand and treat eating disorders. She earned her Ph.D. from Drexel University and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Her research aims to understand how altered self-control may promote cycles of binge eating, purging, and restricted eating. To this end, her work combines innovative behavioral tasks with brain imaging, and self-report and laboratory-based symptom measures. In addition, she is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience and specialized training in the treatment of eating disorders and co-occurring conditions. Dr. Berner’s ultimate goals are to build new explanatory models of eating disorders and to translate research findings into tools for clinical decision-making and novel interventions.

Dr. Berner’s research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation, the American Psychological Association, and the Academy for Eating Disorders. She has received early career awards from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, the Academy for Eating Disorders, and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, as well as the International Global Foundation for Eating Disorders/Eating Disorders Research Society Award for Postdoctoral Young Scientists.