title: Altered White Matter Microstructure in Adolescents and Adults with Bulimia Nervosa.
abstract: Previous data suggest structural and functional deficits in frontal control circuits in adolescents and adults with bulimia nervosa (BN), but less is known about the microstructure of white matter in these circuits early in the course of the disorder. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were acquired from 28 female adolescents and adults with BN and 28 age- and BMI-matched healthy female participants. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to detect group differences in white matter microstructure and explore the differential effects of age on white matter microstructure across groups. Significant reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA) were detected in the BN compared with healthy control group in multiple tracts including forceps minor and major, superior longitudinal, inferior fronto-occipital, and uncinate fasciculi, anterior thalamic radiation, cingulum, and corticospinal tract. FA reductions in forceps and frontotemporal tracts correlated inversely with symptom severity and Stroop interference in the BN group. These findings suggest that white matter microstructure is abnormal in BN in tracts extending through frontal and temporoparietal cortices, especially in those with the most severe symptoms. Age-related differences in both FA and RD in these tracts in BN compared with healthy individuals may represent an abnormal trajectory of white matter development that contributes to the persistence of functional impairments in self-regulation in BN.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaofu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9102-6403
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stefan
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Terranova
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steinglass
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.|Eating Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marsh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016880:Anisotropy; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D055815:Young Adult