Anorexia nervosa is linked to reduced brain structure in reward and somatosensory regions: a meta-analysis of VBM studies

Abstract

BackgroundStructural imaging studies demonstrate brain tissue abnormalities in eating disorders, yet a quantitative analysis has not been done.MethodsIn global and regional meta-analyses of 9 voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies, with a total of 228 eating disorder participants (currently ill with anorexia nervosa), and 240 age-matched healthy controls, we compare brain volumes using global and regional analyses.ResultsAnorexia nervosa (AN) patients have global reductions in gray (effect size = −0.66) and white matter (effect size = −0.74) and increased cerebrospinal fluid (effect size = 0.98) and have regional decreases in left hypothalamus, left inferior parietal lobe, right lentiform nucleus and right caudate, and no significant increases. No significant difference in hemispheric lateralization was found.ConclusionsGlobal and regional meta-analyses suggest that excessive restrained eating as found in those with anorexia nervosa coincides with structural brain changes analogous to clinical symptoms.

Grey matter correlates of autistic traits in women with anorexia nervosa

“…First, we examined total grey matter across the entire brain volume and assessed group differences as well as associations with AQ. Second, we replicated the analyses described previously within regions reliably associated with grey matter loss in patients with anorexia nervosa, as reported in a recent metaanalysis: 29 namely, the hypothalamus, the left inferior parietal lobule, the right putamen and the right caudate. These regions were anatomically identified using the Automated Anatomic Labelling (AAL) system in the WFU pickatlas (www.nitrc.org/projects/wfu_pickatlas/).…”

“…[27][28][29] These findings echo findings of temporal cortex alterations in patients with ASD, 30 including alterations of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and the TPJ. [31][32][33] In the present study, we sought to determine whether elevated autistic traits in women with anorexia nervosa may be reflected in morphometric brain alterations.…”

“…These regions were anatomically identified using the Automated Anatomic Labelling (AAL) system in the WFU pickatlas (www.nitrc.org/projects/wfu_pickatlas/). Since the hypothalamus is not defined in AAL, we constructed an ROI as a 10 mm sphere centred on the coordinates reported in the meta-analysis, 29 converted from Talairach to MNI space using GingerAle (www.brainmap.org/ale/; resulting MNI coordinates: x, y, z = -1, -3, -16).…”

Neuroimaging and Attachment in Eating Disorders: Parental Love Nurtues the Brain

“…Finally, two different brain networks were linked to passivity and anger. Higher passivity correlated with lower GM volumes in mesial areas, such as the precuneus which are involved in autobiographical memory and auto-referential processes [42]. This lowered functionality can explain the behavioral aspects typical of passivity interpreted as the difficulty to access to clear and coherent autobiographical memories, as it was seen in people with entangled attachment organization [27,29].…”

“…As a final consideration, substantial overlapping exists between the areas that Cicereale and coworkers have found to be linked to attachment and the areas reported in the literature as markedly atrophic in anorectic subjects [42] which are the thalamus, the cingulate cortex and the amygdalae. It is thus possible that atrophic areas in AN were already hypofunctional before the onset of AN because of the impairment of attachment functions and of anger management.…”