Body schema and self-representation in patients with bulimia nervosa

OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging evidences in eating disorder (ED) patients document dysfunctional neural activity of the posterior parietal cortex, which is engaged in the representation of body schema. Yet a full neuropsychological investigation of body schema representation in ED patients is lacking. We e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of eating disorders 2011-04, Vol.44 (3), p.238-248
Main Authors: Urgesi, Cosimo, Fornasari, Livia, De Faccio, Sara, Perini, Laura, Mattiussi, Elisa, Ciano, Rossana, Balestrieri, Matteo, Fabbro, Franco, Brambilla, Paolo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Analysis of Variance
binge eating disorder
Binge-Eating Disorder - physiopathology
Binge-Eating Disorder - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Body Image
body schema
Brain
Bulimia
bulimia nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa - physiopathology
Bulimia Nervosa - psychology
Eating behavior disorders
Eating disorders
Female
Humans
Imagination - physiology
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Neuropsychological Tests
Neuropsychology
Neurosciences
Orientation - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reaction Time - physiology
Self Concept
self representation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging evidences in eating disorder (ED) patients document dysfunctional neural activity of the posterior parietal cortex, which is engaged in the representation of body schema. Yet a full neuropsychological investigation of body schema representation in ED patients is lacking. We examined mental imagery and body schema representation in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). METHOD: Consecutive samples of 15 BN patients and 15 BED patients were compared with two groups of 15 age-matched controls in tasks requiring body or object mental transformation. RESULTS: BN, but not BED patients, were selectively impaired in the mental transformation of their own body, although this deficit was not correlated with measures of body dissatisfaction. In contrast, no patient group was impaired in the mental transformation of external objects. DISCUSSION: Results showed altered self-body representation in BN, but not BED patients, as the neuropsychological consequences of posterior parietal cortex dysfunctions. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2011; 44:238-248)
ISSN:0276-3478
1098-108X
DOI:10.1002/eat.20816