title: Event-related potentials during recognition of semantic and pictorial food stimuli in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls with varying internal states of hunger.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate maladaptive central processing of food cues during recognition tasks in anorexia nervosa (AN), while considering influences of nutritional preload and presentation modality (word versus picture).
  
  
  METHODS
  Event-related potentials to food-related word and pictorial stimuli were assessed during recognition tasks in 16 patients with AN, 16 control participants with food intake before the study, and 16 control participants with a fasting period before the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with AN showed a P3b amplitude reduction especially at the midline parietal site compared with satiated controls (5.7 [standard deviation = 3.3] versus 8.7 [3.1] μV, p < .03). Subtle recognition deficits in patients with AN were indicated by smaller "old/new" effects compared with satiated (p = .049) and fasting controls (p < .003) for pictorial stimuli. Hunger-modulated enhanced old/new effects for food pictures compared with neutral pictorial stimuli could be observed in fasting controls only (2.7 [2.6] versus 0.8 [2.2] μV, p < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presented data provide evidence for a midline parietal P3b amplitude reduction in patients with AN, which might point to reduced network activation in AN even during satiety. Observed subtle recognition deficits either represent a stable trait characteristic or a "scar" effect of chronic starvation that may play a role in the development and/or persistence of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic and General Internal Medicine, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Thibautstrasse 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. christoph.nikendei@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nikendei
authors.forename: Hans-Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Friederich
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weisbrod
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Anuradha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zipfel
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bender
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003463:Cues; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology*; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000502:physiology; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011594:Psychometrics; D011932:Reading; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012527:Satiation / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin; D004958:Estradiol; D006854:Hydrocortisone