Gourmand syndrome

Gourmand syndrome
Frontal lobe (at right)
Specialty	Neurology

Gourmand syndrome is a very rare and benign eating disorder that usually occurs six to twelve months after an injury to the frontal lobe.^[1][2][3][4] Those with the disorder usually have a right hemisphere frontal or temporal brain lesion typically affecting the cortical areas, basal ganglia or limbic structures.^[3][2][5][6] These people develop a new, post-injury passion for gourmet food.^[3][2][5][4]

There are two main aspects of gourmand syndrome: first, the fine dining habits and changes to taste, and second, the obsessive component, which may result in craving and preservation.^[2] Gourmand syndrome can be related to, and shares biological features with, addictive and obsessive disorders.^[2][3] The syndrome was first characterised in 1997.^[3]

A new-found obsession for refined foods after frontal lobe injury is the primary characterization of Gourmand syndrome.^{[2][1][3][4][5][6][excessive citations]}

It is believed that the frontotemporal circuits, normally involved in healthy eating, can, when injured, cause gourmand syndrome in patients.^[4]

Only 36 people had been diagnosed with gourmand syndrome as of 2001.^[6] In many of these cases, the patient did not have any interest in food beforehand nor had any family history with eating disorders.^[5][2][3]

The first, most famous case was seen in 1997 by Regard and Landis in the journal Neurology:^[2][3] after a Swiss stroke patient was released from the hospital, he immediately quit his job as a political journalist and took up the profession of food critic.^[3] Regard and Landis also observed an athletic businessman with this condition whose family was shocked to see such a sudden, drastic change in his diet.^[3]

Only one case of gourmand syndrome has been reported in a child. He was born with issues with his right temporal lobe; at eight years old he began to experience seizures, within the year of the seizures beginning, his behavior began to change to the symptoms of gourmand syndrome.^[2]

In 2014, a man that was once interested in marathon running now was only interested in gastronomy, traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to eat gourmet food. He became a famous gastronomic critic and gained 50 kg (110 pounds).^[5]

• Uher, R (2005). "Brain lesions and eating disorders". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 76 (6): 852–7. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.048819. PMC 1739667. PMID 15897510.
• Bramen, Lisa (2011-07-06). "Gourmand Syndrome – First identified by neuroscientists in the 1990s, the disorder is marked by "a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.