title: Reduced connectivity between the left fusiform body area and the extrastriate body area in anorexia nervosa is associated with body image distortion.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the network and its effective connectivity subserving body processing in women suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) and also in healthy controls. Ten women diagnosed with AN and 15 healthy, age matched controls were investigated using fMRI during viewing images of bodies and chairs. Effective connectivity between cortical areas which are involved in human visual body processing was accessed. Effective connectivity analysis yielded evidence for a different network in AN and healthy controls during visual processing of human bodies. Left sided effective connectivity in the occipital cortex of women with AN showed a highly negative correlation with body size misjudgment. Present results yield evidence for altered networks for body processing in women with AN. Results explain body size misjudgment, a key feature in AN, which seems to be based on reduced effective connectivity in the body processing network.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany. Boris.Suchan@rub.de
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suchan
authors.forename: Denise Soria
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Bauser
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schulte
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grönemeyer
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herpertz
authors.forename: Silja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vocks
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*