Cerebral atrophy is a common complication of anorexia nervosa, a sequela of severe weight loss and lower body fat.  In brain tissue, atrophy describes the loss of neurons and neural pathways, negatively affecting conscious thought and voluntary processes. Cerebral atrophy affects memory, orientation, abstraction, ability to learn, and executive functions such as planning, organizing and sequencing. This complication leads to the erratic thoughts and behaviors of undernourished patients. Recent studies have demonstrated total brain volume increases significantly after patients are sustained at healthy weight.