Abstract
Altered inhibitory control has been implicated in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (ED), however it is unclear how different types of inhibitory control are affected across the EDs. We explored whether individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED) and anorexia nervosa (AN) differed from healthy individuals (HC) on two types of motor inhibitory control: proactive inhibition (related to the preparation/initiation of a response) and reactive inhibition (withholding a response in reaction to a signal). Ninety-four women (28 AN, 27 BN, 11 BED, 28 HC) completed two neuropsychological tasks (a cued reaction time task and a stop signal task), and questionnaires assessing clinical variables, mood, anxiety, and inhibitory control. Self-reported inhibitory control was poorer in women with BN compared to the HC and AN groups, but greater in women with AN compared to all other groups. However, no group differences in reactive inhibition were observed. Proactive inhibition was augmented in women with AN compared to HC, and this was related to self-reported intolerance of uncertainty. The findings suggest that proactive inhibition may be a relevant target for behavioural interventions for AN, and call for further research into the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and proactive inhibition.
Highlights
Altered inhibitory control, i.e., the ability to appropriately withhold a response (Bartholdy et al, 2016a; Wardak et al, 2012), has been implicated in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs)
Incomplete data were collected from 3 participants (1 healthy controls (HC), 1 anorexia nervosa (AN), 1 bulimia nervosa (BN)) on the Stop signal task (SST) though all completed the playlist with 25% stop trial and these participants were excluded from comparisons across playlists but were included in assessments of reactive inhibition
The groups did not differ in age, but did differ in global ED pathology (EDE-Q Global, driven by lower ED pathology in the HC group compared to all other groups) and body mass index (BMI)
Summary
I.e., the ability to appropriately withhold a response (Bartholdy et al, 2016a; Wardak et al, 2012), has been implicated in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Adult women with anorexia nervosa (AN), individuals with AN restrictive subtype, have been reported to exhibit excessive rewardrelated inhibitory control compared to healthy individuals (Steinglass et al, 2012). These findings are not always consistent (for reviews, see Bartholdy et al, 2016c; McClelland et al, 2016)
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