Abstract
Brain mechanisms underlying body image disturbances are a focus of research in the realm of eating disorders, and functional imaging studies have revealed gender differences in the processing of body shape. In this study, using 16-channel near infrared spectroscopy, we investigated frontal lobe activation in 46 healthy university students during viewing of photographs of pathologically thin female forms, and compared gender differences in activation, and examined the correlations between the relative changes in cerebral blood volume, eating attitudes, and perceived feelings. Participants completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT26) and rated a visual analogue scale for anxiety/disgust. Significant gender differences in the pattern of activation were noted in the prefrontal region (predominantly right side, dorsolateral to ventral), with male participants showing greater and more widespread frontal activation. The total and subscale scores on EAT26 were significantly correlated with the frontal activation, and perceived feelings were significantly associated with increased prefrontal activation on the left side. Gender differences in frontal activation suggest differential expectations between men and women of pathologically thin female body forms. The study results suggest that anorexic psychopathology may be associated with abnormal right frontal activation while viewing thin bodies of others.
Highlights
The brain mechanisms underlying body image processing have been explored in previous studies, using a variety of methodologies
The present study attempted to estimate the prefrontal activations induced by visual stimuli consisting of the body forms of anorexia patients, using noninvasive and simple-to-perform functional brain imaging
This visual task was associated with widespread and fluctuating activations, but predominantly of the right prefrontal cortex (PFC). This finding was in agreement with the results of previous studies, for instance, the fMRI study by Sachdev and colleagues [10] which indicated that non-self-images induced activations in the medial inferior frontal gyrus (BA46), and the fMRI study in which females without eating disorder (ED) presented with pictures of slim models showed activations in the right PFC and the inferior frontal pole (BA9) [6]
Summary
The brain mechanisms underlying body image processing have been explored in previous studies, using a variety of methodologies. Friederich et al [6] summarized that a neural network could be involved in the general processing of body images (the lateral fusiform, parietal and dorsolateral PFC) and a related ‘emotional’ network (AC, insula, amygdala) may be activated when body-shape-related stimuli induce self-related or emotional reactions. These neural connections might play a significant role in the pathophysiology of eating disorders, and possibly in the gender-related difference in the prevalence of eating disorders
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