Selective working memory deficits in anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Objective: The study investigated the effects of anorexia nervosa (AN) on the three components of working memory, and the extent to which these could be attributed to preoccupying cognitions concerning food, weight and body shape. Method: Participants were 24 young women with AN aged from 17 to 27 years. Their performance on the Double Span Memory task was compared against that of 24 dieting and 24 non-dieting controls. The Double Span Memory task presents a series of common objects in randomly chosen locations of a 4  4 grid, and requires participants to name the objects (phonological loop), point to the locations (visuo-spatial sketch pad) or both (central executive). Participants also completed a self-report measure of preoccupying thoughts about food, weight and body shape, as well as a measure of crystallised intelligence. Results: Relative to non-dieting controls, dieters and AN patients performed significantly more poorly on the combined recall. AN patients alone showed impaired performance on the single recall of locations. Covariance analyses indicated that the group  recall type interaction was accounted for by self-reports of preoccupying cognitions. Discussion: AN is associated with disruption of the functioning of the visuo-spatial sketch pad and central executive components of working memory. These deficits are at least partly attributable to an intense preoccupation with dieting-related thoughts, and may contribute to difficulties in processing complex information within the therapeutic context.

The influence of eating psychopathology on autobiographical memory specificity and social problem-solving

“…There is considerable evidence that executive processes play a key role in the retrieval of specific event memories (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2001) and have been implicated in the AMS deficits shown in depressed patients (Dalgleish et al, 2007), patients with PTSD (Dalgleish et al, 2008) and older adults (Holland, Ridout, Geraghty & Walford, 2012). Given that impaired executive function has been reported in patients with eating disorders (Allen et al, 2013;Kemps et al, 2006) and in participants who might be considered at risk of developing an eating disorder (Green et al, 2003;Kemps & Tiggemann, 2005) it is plausible that the deficit in AMS observed in the current study might be a consequence of reduced executive function in those with elevated EDI scores.…”

Neuropsychological Impairments in Anorexia Nervosa: A Spanish Sample Pilot Study

“…All participants in this study were female. As AN affects adolescents with increasing frequency (N. H. Golden et al, 2003), participants aged younger than 18 years of age were included in the study to create groups that approach as much as possible real age ranges in eating disorder units (Connan et al, 2006;Fowler et al, 2006;Gillberg et al, 2007;Green et al, 1998;Grunwald et al, 2001;Kemps et al, 2006;Rastam et al, 2001).…”

“…Thus, after Halmi et al (2003) suggested a common pathway might be involved both in AN and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), investigations attempted to focus on the frontal impairment profiles by studying cognitive capabilities located in the frontal and prefrontal cerebral areas. Several investigations demonstrated impairments in attentional capabilities (Kingston et al, 1996;Lauer et al, 1999;Seed et al, 2002), mental flexibility (Steinglass, Walsh, & Stern, 2006;Tchanturia et al, 2004), speed of information processing (SIP; Fowler et al, 2006;Gillberg et al, 2007;Kingston et al, 1996;Lauer et al, 1999), working memory (Kemps, Tiggemann, Wade, BenTovim, & Breyer, 2006), and decision making (Cavedini et al, 2004;Tchanturia et al, 2007), while others failed to replicate these findings (Cavedini et al, 2004;Gillberg et al, 2007;Kemps et al, 2006;Kingston et al, 1996;Steinglass et al, 2006;Tchanturia et al, 2007). Nonetheless, an agreement appears to exist about the severity of impairments, given that all of the authors have reported that these impairments are subtle when compared with healthy control subjects.…”

Cognitive Decline in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa: Which Cognitive Domains are Most Vulnerable and Need to be Considered?

“…This kind of pattern of making trade-offs between speed and accuracy was also detectable in the current study: with the help of other assessment tools standard results were achieved in time-based components measuring inhibition and switching, and elevated scores on IPS and WM. All used tests required skills in visual converting of the test material including attention and visuospatial information processing and may reflect cognitive problems in the central executive and the visual sketchpad [16]. Therefore, to detect subtle cognitive change in patients suffering from AN-R and to account for inefficiencies in higher cognitive performance style WM tasks should be added to refine AN sensitive batteries such as the Ravello Profile used to characterize AN [5].…”

“…Results regarding WM deficits in AN have been inconsistent. There is evidence that verbal WM seems to be unaffected [15] whereas the central executive and the visuospatial aspect seem to be inefficient [16]. Furthermore various psychiatric disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have also been linked to deficits in WM.…”