Cognitive flexibility in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
The aim of this study was to determine if there are differences in cognitive flexibility in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Fifty-three patients with an eating disorder (34 with anorexia nervosa and 19 with bulimia nervosa) and 35 healthy controls participated in the study. A battery of neuropsychological tests for cognitive flexibility was used, including Trail Making B, the Brixton Test, Verbal Fluency, the Haptic Illusion Test, a cognitive shifting task (CatBat) and a picture set test. Using exploratory factor analysis, four factors were obtained: 1: Simple Alternation; 2: Mental Flexibility; 3: Perseveration; and 4: Perceptual Shift. Patients with anorexia nervosa had abnormal scores on Factors 1 and 4. Patients with bulimia nervosa showed a different pattern, with significant impairments in Factors 2 and 4. These findings suggest that differential neuropsychological disturbance in the domain of mental flexibility/rigidity may underlie the spectrum of eating disorders.
Division of Psychological Medicine, Eating Disorders Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, De Crespigny Park, London, UK. spjeket@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Kate
K
Tchanturia
Marija Brecelj
MB
Anderluh
Robin G
RG
Morris
Sophia
S
Rabe-Hesketh
David A
DA
Collier
Patricia
P
Sanchez
Janet L
JL
Treasure
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales