Abnormal oral sensory perception in patients with a history of anorexia nervosa and the relationship between physiological and psychological improvement in this disease.

14 patients with a history of anorexia nervosa (AN) (mean duration 7.1 years) were divided into two groups according to whether they were still amenorrheic (group I, n = 6) at a significantly lower body weight or at normal stable weight with eumenorrhea (group II, n = 8); 26 age-matched students served as the control group. Psychological testing included the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), shadow silhouette size rating, and a new test of oral appreciation of different sized cubes. In groups I and II, oral misperception of medium and large sizes was significantly greater than visual-tactile appreciation; and all cube sizes, however presented, were overexaggerated when compared to the controls. Group II subjects had EDI scores and ideal body weight choices similar to those of group I. Thus, in AN, in addition to visual misperception, there may be a more generalized problem of size conceptualization including oral appreciation. These findings also suggest that improvement in body weight and menstrual function, as in group II, does not necessarily imply psychological recovery in AN.