Eye movement abnormalities in anorexia nervosa.
The aim of the present study is to investigate smooth pursuit eye movement and saccadic performance in anorexia nervosa during a restored weight period and to determine if functional links can be made between eye movement performance and clinical features. SPEM parameters were recorded for 28 female anorectic out-patients (DSM IV), who had a body weight loss of up to 20% of ideal body weight. Twenty-eight comparison subjects were also tested. Clinically, each patient was assessed using the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Structured Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID II), the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Hamilton Scale for Depression (HRSD). The anorectic patients performed slightly worse than the comparison subjects on a number of SPEM measures. No relationship was found between SPEM impairment and a global severity index of psychopathology (SCL 90-R GSI) or depressive symptoms. Moreover, OCD symptoms and scores on some EDI scales (such as perfectionism) appear related to the severity of the eye movement alterations. The evidence of SPEM abnormalities in a subgroup of anorectic patients during the remitted state and the relationship of the abnormalities to obsessive-compulsive symptoms are discussed. Results are in agreement with the hypothesis regarding the persistence of neurophysiological as well as psychopathological traits of disorder in anorectic patients.
Pallanti
S
S
Istituto di Neuroscienze and University of Florence Medical School, Italy. s.pallanti@agora.stm.it
Quercioli
L
L
Zaccara
G
G
Ramacciotti
A B
AB
Arnetoli
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011698:Pursuit, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*