Abstract
Functional connectivity studies based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) have shown alterations in brain networks associated with self-referential processing, cognitive control, and somatosensory processing in anorexia nervosa (AN). This study aimed to further investigate the functional connectivity of resting-state networks (RSNs) in homogenous subsamples of individuals with restrictive AN (current and recovered) and the relationship this has with core eating disorder psychopathology. rs-fMRI scans were obtained from 12 female individuals with restrictive AN, 14 females recovered from restrictive AN, and 16 female healthy controls. Independent components analysis revealed a set of functionally relevant RSNs, previously reported in the literature. Dual regression analysis showed decreased temporal coherence within the lateral visual and auditory RSNs in individuals with current AN and those recovered from AN compared to healthy individuals. This decreased connectivity was also found in regions associated with somatosensory processing, and is consistent with reduced interoceptive awareness and body image perception, characteristic of AN. Widespread gray matter (GM) reductions were also found in both the AN groups, and differences in functional connectivity were no longer significant when GM maps were added as a covariate in the dual regression analysis. This raises the possibility that deficits in somatosensory and interoceptive processing observed in AN may be in part underpinned or exacerbated by GM reductions.
Highlights
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disorder in which the relentless and compulsive pursuit of self-starvation leads to severe malnourishment
Duration of illness was significantly greater in the anorexia nervosa (AN) than the AN-R group: t(1,24) = −2.45, p = 0.02
Lowest body mass index (BMI), past YBC-EDS-SRQ scores, and National Adult Reading Test (NART) did not differ between groups (p > 0.05)
Summary
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disorder in which the relentless and compulsive pursuit of self-starvation leads to severe malnourishment. Recovery rates are low and around a quarter of those affected go on to develop a chronic course of the disorder [1]. It has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder [2] and is one of the most debilitating diseases in young women [3]. A neurobiological account of AN based on dysfunctional ventral limbic and dorsal executive circuitry has been proposed [11], but relatively few studies have directly investigated aberrancies in the neural circuitry of individuals with current AN
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