Brain responses to body image stimuli but not food are altered in women with bulimia nervosa

Research into the neural correlates of bulimia nervosa (BN) psychopathology remains limited. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 21 BN patients and 23 healthy controls (HCs) completed two paradigms: (1) processing of visual food stimuli and (2) comparing their own appearance with th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC psychiatry 2013-11, Vol.13 (1), p.302-302, Article 302
Main Authors: Van den Eynde, Frederique, Giampietro, Vincent, Simmons, Andrew, Uher, Rudolf, Andrew, Chris M, Harvey, Philippe-Olivier, Campbell, Iain C, Schmidt, Ulrike
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anxiety
Body Image - psychology
Brain
Brain - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Brain research
Bulimia
Bulimia Nervosa - physiopathology
Bulimia Nervosa - psychology
Eating disorders
Female
Food
Functional Neuroimaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Neural circuitry
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Photic Stimulation
Physiological aspects
Psychiatry
Self Report
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Research into the neural correlates of bulimia nervosa (BN) psychopathology remains limited. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 21 BN patients and 23 healthy controls (HCs) completed two paradigms: (1) processing of visual food stimuli and (2) comparing their own appearance with that of slim women. Participants also rated food craving and anxiety levels. Brain activation patterns in response to food cues did not differ between women with and without BN. However, when evaluating themselves against images of slim women, BN patients engaged the insula more and the fusiform gyrus less, compared to HCs, suggesting increased self-focus among women with BN whilst comparing themselves to a 'slim ideal'. In these BN patients, exposure to food and body image stimuli increased self-reported levels of anxiety, but not craving. Our findings suggest that women with BN differ from HCs in the way they process body image, but not in the way they process food stimuli.
ISSN:1471-244X
1471-244X
DOI:10.1186/1471-244X-13-302