The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) has released its October 2026 newsletter with a terrific article on hyperorality. This is a “behavioral symptom in which affected individuals compulsively taste, chew, or ingest food or non-food items.” Behaviors include compulsive overeating; rigid food preferences; binging on sweet; eating non-food items; etc.
This brings to mind a wonderful story about a “banana lady,” who craved and hoarded bananas. (From “The Banana Lady and Other Stories of Curious Behavior and Speech,” book by neurologist Dr. Andrew Kertesz, 2006.)
My father with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a type of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), compulsively ate a 5-pound box of chocolates in an hour. We learned to ration chocolates and other sweets.
Read The AFTD’s spotlight on this curious symptom
Robin
Brain Support Network