Neuronal activity changes and body image distortion in anorexia nervosa.
Body image distortion is a major and often persistent symptom in anorexia nervosa. During a functional imaging investigation we confronted female anorectic patients and healthy controls with their own digitally distorted body images using a computer-based video-technique. Our findings indicate activation of the attention network as well as of structures involved in visuo-spatial processing and self-reflection in both groups. Anorectic patients showed a greater activation in the prefrontal cortex (BA 9) and the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), including the anterior intraparietal sulcus, than did controls. However, an analysis of the BOLD-response in the IPL area revealed that anorectic patients showed only a specific increase in activation to their own pictures than to others indicating different visuo-spatial processing, while controls did not differentiate.
Wagner
Angela
A
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Mannheim, Germany. wagner@as200.zi-mannheim.de
Ruf
Matthias
M
Braus
Dieter F
DF
Schmidt
Martin H
MH
D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*