Restraint of appetite and reduced regional brain volumes in anorexia nervosa: a voxel-based morphometric study

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies of people with anorexia nervosa (AN) have shown differences in brain structure. This study aimed to provide preliminary extensions of this data by examining how different levels of appetitive restraint impact on brain volume.MethodsVoxel based morphometry (VBM), corrected for total intracranial volume, age, BMI, years of education in 14 women with AN (8 RAN and 6 BPAN) and 21 women (HC) was performed. Correlations between brain volume and dietary restraint were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).ResultsIncreased right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and reduced right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left cerebellum and right posterior cingulate volumes in AN compared to HC. RAN compared to BPAN had reduced left orbitofrontal cortex, right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and left cerebellum. Age negatively correlated with right DLPFC volume in HC but not in AN; dietary restraint and BMI predicted 57% of variance in right DLPFC volume in AN.ConclusionsIn AN, brain volume differences were found in appetitive, somatosensory and top-down control brain regions. Differences in regional GMV may be linked to levels of appetitive restraint, but whether they are state or trait is unclear. Nevertheless, these discrete brain volume differences provide candidate brain regions for further structural and functional study in people with eating disorders.

Elevated cognitive control over reward processing in recovered female patients with anorexia nervosa

“…29 Dorsolateral PFC volume in patients with anorexia nervosa seems to be positively related to dietary restraint (i.e., cognitive strategies to inhibit appetite). 54 Furthermore, 2 studies using go/no-go task designs provide evidence suggesting altered inhibition-related neural responses in lateral frontal and parietal brain regions. 27,55 In line with the interpretation offered previously, a recent study focusing on working memory with a task that targeted the frontoparietal cognitive control network found no evidence for cortical inefficiency in patients with anorexia nervosa.…”

Structural and functional differences in the cingulate cortex relate to disease severity in anorexia nervosa

“…22 While some studies found loss of global grey matter, 23,24 others found a loss of white matter. 25 Brooks and colleagues 26 reported no significant global differences in patients with anorexia nervosa. Moreover, circumscribed reductions in local grey matter were found in the ACC and PCC, 26 the insula 26 and the parietal cortex.…”

“…25 Brooks and colleagues 26 reported no significant global differences in patients with anorexia nervosa. Moreover, circumscribed reductions in local grey matter were found in the ACC and PCC, 26 the insula 26 and the parietal cortex. 23,25 Cortical surface parameters, such as cortical thickness, have not yet been studied in patients with anorexia.…”

Grey matter correlates of autistic traits in women with anorexia nervosa

“…4,7,10,[13][14][15] Our results are also consistent with the extensive literature on structural brain alterations in anorexia nervosa. 27,29,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Specifically, previous structural brain studies found grey matter reductions of the temporal lobe in patients with anorexia nervosa, 27,28 and a recent activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis showed that the temporal lobe consistently exhibits reduced regional grey matter in patients with anorexia nervosa. 29 Our results are further supported by functional MRI studies that found reduced activations of brain regions linked to social cognition, including the superior temporal cortex 25 and TPJ, 22,23 in patients with anorexia nervosa.…”