PURPOSE: Executive functions (EF) have been widely investigated in anorexia nervosa (AN) revealing difficulties in various aspects. We aimed at testing the effects of EF on stimuli perception and its representations in memory. METHODS: Thirty AN underweight patients, 30 weight-restored AN patients, and 44 control participants, were recruited. Various EF were assessed using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, analyzed with the Boston Qualitative Scoring System. RESULTS: No differences were found in visuo-constructional measures in either AN groups compared to controls on the copy and memory stages. However, both groups performed significantly worse than controls on most EF variables in the copy stage, while in the immediate and delayed memory stages the difference was less substantial. CONCLUSIONS: Difficulties in EF among AN patients, current and weight restored, are more pronounced in the perceptual module and less so when employed through memory retrieval. The pattern, which is apparent after weight gain, suggests that there is no ameliorative effect on these difficulties.
PURPOSE: Executive functions (EF) have been widely investigated in anorexia nervosa (AN) revealing difficulties in various aspects. We aimed at testing the effects of EF on stimuli perception and its representations in memory. METHODS: Thirty AN underweight patients, 30 weight-restored AN patients, and 44 control participants, were recruited. Various EF were assessed using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, analyzed with the Boston Qualitative Scoring System. RESULTS: No differences were found in visuo-constructional measures in either AN groups compared to controls on the copy and memory stages. However, both groups performed significantly worse than controls on most EF variables in the copy stage, while in the immediate and delayed memory stages the difference was less substantial. CONCLUSIONS: Difficulties in EF among AN patients, current and weight restored, are more pronounced in the perceptual module and less so when employed through memory retrieval. The pattern, which is apparent after weight gain, suggests that there is no ameliorative effect on these difficulties.
Authors: Unna N Danner; Nicole Sanders; Paul A M Smeets; Floor van Meer; Roger A H Adan; Hans W Hoek; Annemarie A van Elburg Journal: Int J Eat Disord Date: 2012-02-13 Impact factor: 4.861
Authors: Megan E Shott; J Vincent Filoteo; Kelly A C Bhatnagar; Nicole J Peak; Jennifer O Hagman; Roxanne Rockwell; Walter H Kaye; Guido K W Frank Journal: Eur Eat Disord Rev Date: 2012-04-10
Authors: Barbara J Sahakian; Annette B Bruhl; Jennifer Cook; Clare Killikelly; George Savulich; Thomas Piercy; Sepehr Hafizi; Jesus Perez; Emilio Fernandez-Egea; John Suckling; Peter B Jones Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2015-09-19 Impact factor: 6.237