Fabio Bernardoni1, Daniel Geisler1, Joseph A King1, Amir-Homayoun Javadi2, Franziska Ritschel3, Julia Murr4, Andrea M F Reiter5, Veit Rössner6, Michael N Smolka7, Stefan Kiebel8, Stefan Ehrlich9. 1. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 2. School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom. 3. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 4. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 5. Institute of General Psychology, Biopsychology and Methods of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 6. Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 7. Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 8. Institute of General Psychology, Biopsychology and Methods of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 9. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: stefan.ehrlich@uniklinikum-dresden.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In their relentless pursuit of thinness, individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) engage in maladaptive behaviors (restrictive food choices and overexercising) that may originate in altered decision making and learning. METHODS: In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we employed computational modeling to elucidate the neural correlates of feedback learning and value-based decision making in 36 female patients with AN and 36 age-matched healthy volunteers (12-24 years). Participants performed a decision task that required adaptation to changing reward contingencies. Data were analyzed within a hierarchical Gaussian filter model that captures interindividual variability in learning under uncertainty. RESULTS: Behaviorally, patients displayed an increased learning rate specifically after punishments. At the neural level, hemodynamic correlates for the learning rate, expected value, and prediction error did not differ between the groups. However, activity in the posterior medial frontal cortex was elevated in AN following punishment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the neural underpinning of feedback learning is selectively altered for punishment in AN.
BACKGROUND: In their relentless pursuit of thinness, individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) engage in maladaptive behaviors (restrictive food choices and overexercising) that may originate in altered decision making and learning. METHODS: In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we employed computational modeling to elucidate the neural correlates of feedback learning and value-based decision making in 36 female patients with AN and 36 age-matched healthy volunteers (12-24 years). Participants performed a decision task that required adaptation to changing reward contingencies. Data were analyzed within a hierarchical Gaussian filter model that captures interindividual variability in learning under uncertainty. RESULTS: Behaviorally, patients displayed an increased learning rate specifically after punishments. At the neural level, hemodynamic correlates for the learning rate, expected value, and prediction error did not differ between the groups. However, activity in the posterior medial frontal cortex was elevated in AN following punishment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the neural underpinning of feedback learning is selectively altered for punishment in AN.
Authors: Joseph A. King; Fabio Bernardoni; Daniel Geisler; Franziska Ritschel; Arne Doose; Sophie Pauligk; Konrad Pásztor; Kerstin Weidner; Veit Roessner; Michael N. Smolka; Stefan Ehrlich Journal: J Psychiatry Neurosci Date: 2020-03-01 Impact factor: 6.186
Authors: Christina E Wierenga; Erin Reilly; Amanda Bischoff-Grethe; Walter H Kaye; Gregory G Brown Journal: J Int Neuropsychol Soc Date: 2021-11-29 Impact factor: 3.114
Authors: Aviva K Olsavsky; Megan E Shott; Marisa C DeGuzman; Guido K W Frank Journal: Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging Date: 2018-08-18 Impact factor: 2.376
Authors: Sophie Pauligk; Maria Seidel; Sophia Fürtjes; Joseph A King; Daniel Geisler; Inger Hellerhoff; Veit Roessner; Ulrike Schmidt; Thomas Goschke; Henrik Walter; Alexander Strobel; Stefan Ehrlich Journal: Transl Psychiatry Date: 2021-05-21 Impact factor: 6.222