title: Evidence for alterations of cortical folding in anorexia nervosa.
abstract: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is highly heritable, and the perspective on the etiology of AN has changed from a behavioral to a neurobiological and neurodevelopmental view. However, cortical folding as an important marker for deviations in brain development has yet rarely been explored in AN. Hence, in order to determine potential cortical folding alterations, we investigated fine-grained cortical folding in a cohort of 26 patients with AN, of whom 6 patients were recovered regarding their weight at the time point of MRI measurement. MRI-derived cortical folding was computed and compared between patients and healthy controls at about 150,000 points per hemisphere using a surface-based technique (FreeSurfer). Patients with AN exhibited highly significant increased cortical folding in a right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region (DLPFC). Furthermore, a statistical trend in the same direction was found in the right visual cortex. We did not find a correlation of local cortical folding and current symptoms of the disease. In conclusion, our analyses provide first evidence that altered DLPFC cortical folding plays a role in the etiology of AN. The absence of correlations with clinical parameters implicates a relatively independence of cortical folding alterations from the current symptomatology and might thus be regarded as a trait characteristic of the disease potentially related to other neurobiological features of AN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany. christoph.schultz@med.uni-jena.de.
authors.forename: C Christoph
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany.|Psychiatric Brain & Body Research Group Jena, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany.|Psychiatric Brain & Body Research Group Jena, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Feliberto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany.|Psychiatric Brain & Body Research Group Jena, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Group, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07740, Jena, Germany.|Psychiatric Brain & Body Research Group Jena, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bär
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical folding; Mean curvature; Surface-based morphometry