Grey matter correlates of autistic traits in women with anorexia nervosa

Björnsdotter, Malin; Davidovic, Monika; Karjalainen, Louise; Starck, Göran; Olausson, Håkan; Wentz, Elisabet

doi:10.1503/jpn.170072

Cited by 20 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…A recent study investigated gray matter volumetric aspects in female patients affected by AN and autistic traits. The results showed that higher autistic traits correlate with volumetric alterations of brain regions involved in the social cognition, supporting a valuable link of the association between the two disorders (54). In addition, the overlap between ASD and AN may be supported by other common neurobiological basis, including the involvement of the dopaminergic system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Sex-Gender Comparisons in Comorbidities of Children and Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2019

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Over the last few years, new studies focused their attention on the gender-related features in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFA), often leading to controversial results. Another interesting aspect of these subtype of patients is linked to the complexity of clinical presentation, where besides core symptoms, other co-occurrence disorders may complicate the diagnostic evaluation. Therefore, we retrospectively studied 159 HFA patients, male and female, investigating their comorbidities and to find any gender difference. For each patient, were evaluated the presence/absence, type and gender distribution of psychopathological comorbidities, according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. The total sample was divided in 100 male and 59 female patients, age and intelligence quotient matched. In our sample, the psychiatric comorbidities observed were Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Anorexia Nervosa. No statistical significant differences were found between male and female HFA patients comorbidities except for Anorexia Nervosa. In both male and female patients, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders were found in high percentage. In conclusion, our investigation showed that a statistical significant difference of comorbidity between male and female HFA patients was found only for AN diagnosis. However, the question about the distinction between female and male HFA patients remains quite interesting and an open area of research for future studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Sex-Gender Comparisons in Comorbidities of Children and Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2019

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“…Previous VBM studies reported either significant correlations 10,18,21,22,11 or no correlations 6,16,17,20,62 between BMI and GMV in different brain regions. It is possible that these divergent findings may simply have canceled out in our meta-analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Psychoradiological investigations of gray matter alterations in patients with anorexia nervosa

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2018

Transl Psychiatry

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Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder with high mortality. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not well understood, and high-resolution structural magnetic resonance brain imaging studies have given inconsistent results. Here we aimed to psychoradiologically define the most prominent and replicable abnormalities of gray matter volume (GMV) in AN patients, and to examine their relationship to demographics and clinical characteristics, by means of a new coordinate-based meta-analytic technique called seed-based d mapping (SDM). In a pooled analysis of all AN patients we identified decreased GMV in the bilateral median cingulate cortices and posterior cingulate cortices extending to the bilateral precuneus, and the supplementary motor area. In subgroup analysis we found an additional decreased GMV in the right fusiform in adult AN, and a decreased GMV in the left amygdala and left anterior cingulate cortex in AN patients without comorbidity (pure AN). Thus, the most consistent GMV alterations in AN patients are in the default mode network and the sensorimotor network. These psychoradiological findings of the brain abnormalities might underpin the neuropathophysiology in AN.

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“…Multiple lines of research support the connection between ASD and AN, including shared neurobiology 7,8 and genome-wide association studies. 27 Elevated ASD traits are associated with lower BMI scores, suggesting that ASD traits may arise from the starved state of AN 28 and thus warrant follow-up over the natural history and treatment course of AN.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 Elevated autistic traits have also been reported in females with AN, 5,6 as have morphometric alterations in brain areas linked to social cognition, including the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex, the fusiform face area (in the temporal lobe and Brodmann's area 37), and the superior temporal sulcus. 7,8 Overall, the prevalence of ASD in AN has been reported to approximate 23% of cases. 9 This is a compelling finding, taking into account the similarities in cognitive, social, and emotional processing between AN and ASD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prominent autistic traits and subthreshold bipolar/mixed features of depression in severe anorexia nervosa

Fornaro

Sassi

Novello

et al. 2020

Braz. J. Psychiatry

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Objective: Autistic traits are associated with a burdensome clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa (AN), as is AN with concurrent depression. The aim of the present study was to explore the intertwined association between complex psychopathology combining autistic traits, subthreshold bipolarity, and mixed depression among people with AN. Method: Sixty patients with AN and concurrent major depressive episode (mean age, 22.267 years) were cross-sectionally assessed using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient test (AQ-test), the Hamilton depression scales for depression and anxiety, the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Hypomania-Checklist-32 (HCL-32), second revision (for subthreshold bipolarity), the Brown Assessment and Beliefs Scale (BABS), the Yale-Brown-Cornell Eating Disorders Scale (YBC-EDS), and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). Cases were split into two groups depending on body mass index (BMI): severe AN (AN + ) if BMI o 16, not severe (AN -) if BMI X 16. Results: The ''subthreshold bipolarity with prominent autistic traits'' pattern correctly classified 83.6% of AN patients (AN + = 78.1%; AN -= 91.3%, Exp(B) = 1.391). AN + cases showed higher rates of positive scores for YMRS items 2 (increased motor activity-energy) and 5 (irritability) compared to ANcases. Conclusions: In our sample, depressed patients with severe AN had more pronounced autistic traits and subtly mixed bipolarity. Further studies with larger samples and prospective follow-up of treatment outcomes are warranted to replicate these findings. A, Fusco A, Senatore I, et al. Prominent autistic traits and subthreshold bipolar/mixed features of depression in severe anorexia nervosa. Braz J Psychiatry. 2020;42:153-161. http://dx.

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Grey matter correlates of autistic traits in women with anorexia nervosa

Cited by 20 publications

References 61 publications

Sex-Gender Comparisons in Comorbidities of Children and Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sex-Gender Comparisons in Comorbidities of Children and Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Psychoradiological investigations of gray matter alterations in patients with anorexia nervosa

Prominent autistic traits and subthreshold bipolar/mixed features of depression in severe anorexia nervosa

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