title: Reward-related decision making in eating and weight disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence from neuropsychological studies.
abstract: Eating disorders (EDs) and overweight/obesity (OW/OB) are serious public health concerns that share common neuropsychological features and patterns of disturbed eating. Reward-related decision making as a basic neurocognitive function may trans-diagnostically underlie both pathological overeating and restricted eating. The present meta-analysis synthesizes the evidence from N=82 neuropsychological studies for altered reward-related decision making in all ED subtypes, OW and OB. The overall effect sizes for the differences between currently-ill ED patients and OW/OB people and controls were Hedge's g=-0.49 [CI: -0.63; -0.35], and Hedge's g=-0.39 [CI: -0.53; -0.25], respectively. Decision making was found to be altered to similar degrees in all ED subtypes and OB. Effect sizes, however, diverged for the different measures of decision making. Adolescents appear to be less affected than adults. When foods were used as rewarding stimuli, decision making was found to be intact in OB. The findings support that altered general reward-related decision making is a salient neuropsychological factor across eating and weight disorders in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Mudan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: timo.brockmeyer@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brockmeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mechthild
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skunde
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR-Klinikum, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Friederich
mesh_terms: D056912:Binge-Eating Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D012201:Reward
keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Binge eating disorder; Bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Impulsivity; Obesity; Overweight; Reward sensitivity; Reward-related decision making; Value-based decision making