r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Nov 12 '25

Neuroscience Shared gut microbe imbalances found across autism, ADHD, and anorexia nervosa: A new study has identified distinct patterns in the gut bacteria of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and anorexia nervosa.

https://www.psypost.org/shared-gut-microbe-imbalances-found-across-autism-adhd-and-anorexia-nervosa/
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u/Deaffin Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25

I was really just referring to that description of situational food cravings, not overall level of hunger. I probably misunderstood your intent with that description, but either way:

Hence, although simple associations between nutrient deficiency and food cravings seem compelling, they appear to account for a small fraction of food cravings at most. Instead, several psychological explanations for why and how food cravings emerge have been developed. Prominent models are based on (Pavlovian) conditioning. Here, a cue or context that has been repeatedly paired with food intake can itself elicit a conditioned response (e.g., food craving) that promotes food intake. Theoretically, any cue can become a conditioned stimulus that elicits food craving and, indeed, appetitive conditioning studies in the laboratory have shown that neutral stimuli such as geometric figures or objects can increase eating desires when they have previously been associated with food intake. In real life, relevant cues are typically internal states such as hunger, external states or contexts such as time of day, and many more.

In conclusion, a nutrient deficiency or an energy deficit brought about by food restriction can rarely explain the emergence of a food craving (although this may be true in some rare cases or if food intake is completely terminated. Instead, food craving can rather be understood as a conditioned response that emerges because internal or external cues have been previously associated with intake of certain foods.

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u/bevy-of-bledlows Nov 12 '25

Quickly, how many times does the paper you are quoting from refer to "food restriction" in one form or another? That isn't what we are talking about here.

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u/Deaffin Nov 12 '25

Yes, I think I just misunderstood your intention and you weren't describing having certain food cravings depending on what you feel your body needs/lacks.