# Brain Aromatase and Inhibitory Control in Bulimia Nervosa

> **NIH NIH R21** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $468,179

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Brain estrogen and its synthesis has emerged as a robust mediator of sex differences in the expression of a
range of specific pathological behaviors, but limited data inform models of brain estrogen in human
psychopathology. Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a striking example of the potential role of brain estrogen in the
pathogenesis of disturbed feeding behavior (e.g., binge eating, loss of control, food choice) and inhibitory
control to emotionally salient stimuli. Variability in this system may explain the elevated prevalence rates of BN
among women. There is no direct measure of in vivo brain estrogen availability in humans, but the PET ligand
[11C]vorozole provides a unique opportunity to characterize estrogen tone in the brain by measuring the
availability of the primary metabolic enzyme involved in estrogen production. Consequently, we propose a
study of the availability of brain aromatase in 12 adults (6 men and 6 women) with BN using the novel PET
ligand [11C]vorozole and 24 historical age, sex, and body mass index matched healthy controls. The
application proposes to: (1) characterize regional differences in aromatase availability among men and women
with BN relative to healthy controls, and (2) examine the relationship between brain aromatase as measured
by [11C]vorozole and measures of inhibitory control in these participants, and (3) examine correlation between
aromatase levels and laboratory binge eating. We hypothesize that men and women with BN will have lower
aromatase availability in amygdala in comparison to healthy controls, and that regional aromatase availability
will correlate to laboratory measures of impulsivity and symptom expression. Thus, our study will be the first
empirical test of the role of a sexually dimorphic brain mechanism (i.e., estrogen biosynthesis) in men and
women with BN, and validation of our methodology would allow us to expand this research to test broader sex
differences in psychopathology where inhibitory control and impulsivity affects symptom expression and
maintenance. Results could lead to a new translational program of research linking brain synthesized sex
hormones to psychopathology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10072572
- **Project number:** 1R21MH124352-01
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS B HILDEBRANDT
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $468,179
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-05 → 2024-08-04

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10072572

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10072572, Brain Aromatase and Inhibitory Control in Bulimia Nervosa (1R21MH124352-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10072572. Licensed CC0.

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