OBJECTIVE: To delineate functional brain abnormalities associated with anorexia nervosa (AN). STUDY DESIGN: Positron emission tomographic measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were performed on 8 female patients with AN and 8 healthy female control subjects during exposure to 3 types of stimuli: high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods, and non-food items. Heart rate and internal state analog scale scores were also obtained. Stereotactic transformation and statistical parametric mapping techniques were used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS: During the high-calorie condition, control subjects reported a significant desire to eat, whereas subjects with AN reported elevated anxiety and exhibited increases in heart rate. Patients with AN had elevated bilateral medial temporal lobe rCBF compared with control subjects. Planned comparisons for group-by-condition interactions demonstrated greater activation within left occipital cortex and right temporo-occipital cortex for the high-calorie versus low-calorie contrast in patients with AN compared with control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding of elevated rCBF within bilateral medial temporal lobes is similar to published results in patients with psychotic disorders and may be related to the body image distortion common to AN. The high-calorie food phobia exhibited by patients with AN appears to be associated with exaggerated responses in visual association cortex, as has been previously observed in studies of specific phobias.
OBJECTIVE: To delineate functional brain abnormalities associated with anorexia nervosa (AN). STUDY DESIGN: Positron emission tomographic measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were performed on 8 female patients with AN and 8 healthy female control subjects during exposure to 3 types of stimuli: high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods, and non-food items. Heart rate and internal state analog scale scores were also obtained. Stereotactic transformation and statistical parametric mapping techniques were used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS: During the high-calorie condition, control subjects reported a significant desire to eat, whereas subjects with AN reported elevated anxiety and exhibited increases in heart rate. Patients with AN had elevated bilateral medial temporal lobe rCBF compared with control subjects. Planned comparisons for group-by-condition interactions demonstrated greater activation within left occipital cortex and right temporo-occipital cortex for the high-calorie versus low-calorie contrast in patients with AN compared with control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding of elevated rCBF within bilateral medial temporal lobes is similar to published results in patients with psychotic disorders and may be related to the body image distortion common to AN. The high-calorie food phobia exhibited by patients with AN appears to be associated with exaggerated responses in visual association cortex, as has been previously observed in studies of specific phobias.
Authors: Demitry Kazlouski; Michael D H Rollin; Jason Tregellas; Megan E Shott; Leah M Jappe; Jennifer O Hagman; Tamara Pryor; Tony T Yang; Guido K W Frank Journal: Psychiatry Res Date: 2011-04-17 Impact factor: 3.222
Authors: Daniel Radeloff; Kathrin Willmann; Lisa Otto; Michael Lindner; Karen Putnam; Sara Van Leeuwen; Walter H Kaye; Fritz Poustka; Angela Wagner Journal: World J Biol Psychiatry Date: 2012-04-30 Impact factor: 4.132
Authors: Arianna Vignini; Paola Canibus; Laura Nanetti; Giorgio Montecchiani; Emanuela Faloia; Anna Maria Cester; Marco Boscaro; Laura Mazzanti Journal: Neuromolecular Med Date: 2007-09-15 Impact factor: 3.843
Authors: Ursula F Bailer; Julie C Price; Carolyn C Meltzer; Chester A Mathis; Guido K Frank; Lisa Weissfeld; Claire W McConaha; Shannan E Henry; Sarah Brooks-Achenbach; Nicole C Barbarich; Walter H Kaye Journal: Neuropsychopharmacology Date: 2004-06 Impact factor: 7.853