title: Strategic memory in adults with anorexia nervosa: are there similarities to obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is growing interest in the relationship between anorexia nervosa (AN) and obsessive-compulsive (OC) spectrum disorders (e.g., OCD, body dysmorphic disorder [BDD]). Previous neuropsychological investigations of OC spectrum disorders have identified problems with the efficient use of strategy on complex measures of learning and memory. This study evaluated nonverbal strategic memory in AN outpatients using an approach previously applied to OC spectrum disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen patients with AN and 19 healthy control participants completed the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), a widely used measure of nonverbal strategic planning, learning, and memory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with AN differed significantly from healthy controls in the organizational strategies used to copy the RCFT figure, and they recalled significantly less information on both immediate and delayed testing. Multiple regression analyses indicated that group differences in learning were mediated by copy organizational strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results are identical to study findings in OCD and BDD, indicating important shared neuropsychological features among AN and these OC spectrum disorders. As in OCD and BDD, the essential cognitive deficit in AN was impaired use of organizational strategies, which may inform our understanding of the pathophysiology of AN and potentially offer treatment implications.
authors.affiliation: Center for Excellence in Women's Health, Boston University Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Bonnie J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: Cary R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Kamryn T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Blais
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deckersbach
authors.forename: Safia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Franko
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rauch
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Herzog
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D003193:Compulsive Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology