title: Body image distortions in bulimia nervosa: investigating body size overestimation and body size satisfaction by fMRI.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body image distortion is a key symptom of eating disorders. In behavioral research two components of body image have been defined: attitudes towards the body and body size estimation. Only few fMRI-studies investigated the neural correlates of body image in bulimia; those are constrained by the lack of a direct distinction between these different body image components.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study investigates the neural correlates of two aspects of the body image using fMRI: satisfaction rating and size estimation of distorted own body photographs in bulimia nervosa patients (15) and controls (16).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients were less satisfied with their current body shape than controls and preferred to be thinner. The amount of insula activity reflects the pattern of the satisfaction rating for patients and controls. Patients also overestimated their own body size. For control subjects, an activated cluster in lateral occipital cortex was sensitive for body size distortions, whereas bulimic patients did not demonstrate such a modulation. Furthermore, bulimic subjects did not recruit the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in contrast to controls during the body size estimation task, maybe indicating a reduced spatial manipulation capacity. Therefore, this activation pattern of lateral occipital cortex and MFG might be responsible for body size overestimation in bulimia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present results show that bulimic patients exhibit two distinct deficits in body image representations similar to anorectic patients and that specifically associated neuronal correlates can be identified. Concludingly, our study support psychotherapeutic strategies specifically targeting these two aspects of body image distortions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. hmohr@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Harald Matthias
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Röder
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hummel
authors.forename: Alexa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Negele
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grabhorn
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult