Maintenance Of Anorexia Nervosa Research Articles

The Anorexic Voice: A Dialogical Enquiry and Thematic Analysis

Although prevalent among those given a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN), the internal anorexic voice (AV) is little understood. This study aimed to explore the AV’s role in the development and maintenance of AN from a new perspective – that of the AV itself. Nine women with a diagnosis of AN participated. Data was collected via dialogical enquiry, which entailed direct, semi-structured interviews with participants’ AVs. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes build a picture of a symbiotic yet destructive relationship between AV and individual. Firstly, “Pragmatism” describes the AV’s supposedly invaluable, problem-solving persona. Secondly, “Relationship” depicts the valued yet fraught, unbalanced, and often unwanted bond between AV and individual. Thirdly, “Self-preservation” presents the AV’s drive to retain control for its own survival. In clinical practice, curiosity regarding relationships with AVs could highlight barriers to recovery and inform treatment. Future research should focus on diverse samples and consider ways of working with eating disorder voices to promote recovery.

Self-referential processing in anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious psychiatric illness associated with significant medical and psychiatric comorbidity and impairment. Theoretical models of AN and self-report studies suggest that negative self-evaluation (i.e., low self-esteem) is related to the development and maintenance of AN. The goal of this study was to extend findings from self-report methodology using a neurocognitive task that probes self-evaluation implicitly and explicitly. We compared female adolescent and adult patients with AN (n = 35) and healthy controls (HC, n = 38) on explicit (i.e., endorsement of words as self-relevant), implicit (recall, recognition, reaction time), and composite (i.e., valence index, bias score, drift rates) indices of self-evaluation. We applied a drift-diffusion model to compute the drift rates, reflecting participants' decision-making process as to whether words were self-relevant. The association between self-evaluation indices and eating disorder severity was examined. There were significant Group × Condition interaction effects for all explicit and implicit measures (all p's ≤ .01), where the AN group endorsed, recalled, and recognized more negative relative to positive words than HC. The AN group had more negative valence index and bias scores, and slower drift rate away from negative words, reflecting more negative self-evaluation. The finding for recall was attenuated when individuals with depression were excluded. Measures of self-evaluation bias were not related to eating disorder severity. Using a neurocognitive approach that includes explicit and implicit indices of bias, results suggest that patients with AN have more negative self-evaluation. Due to the cross-sectional design, additional studies are needed to further evaluate directionality. Negative self-evaluation/low self-esteem is thought to contribute to eating disorder symptoms. Findings of this study using a neurocognitive task to probe self-evaluation suggested that individuals with anorexia nervosa have more negative self-evaluation, reflected by endorsing and remembering more negative (than positive) words compared to healthy controls, and doing so faster. Targeting the construct of negative self-evaluation in treatment of AN may be warranted.

The bidirectional connection between family functioning and psychopathology: A network analysis in a large sample of adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their parents.

Family functioning is a risk and maintaining factor for anorexia nervosa (AN). This study aims to identify specific areas of family functioning according to adolescents and parental perspectives associated with eating and general psychological symptoms in people with AN. Four-hundred-forty-five adolescents with AN or atypical AN and their parents were enrolled. Adolescents completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-3, the Youth Self-Report questionnaire, and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Their parents filled in the FAD. A network analysis was conducted including all subscales. The bridge function analysis was applied to identify the bridge nodes connecting each community constituted of family functioning perception with the communities of adolescents' eating and general psychological symptoms. Family communication was the node most strongly connecting fathers and mothers' perception of family functioning and adolescents' eating symptoms. Problem solving was the node with the highest bridge expected influence between mothers' family functioning and adolescents' general psychopathology. General functioning and problem solving were the bridge nodes between adolescents' view of family functioning and eating and general psychopathology. Maturity fear, interpersonal insecurity, and interpersonal alienation were the bridge nodes between adolescents' eating symptoms and mothers, fathers, and adolescents' family functioning communities respectively. Family members must be involved in the therapeutic process to improve family communication and problem solving diverting their attention toward emotional needs and interpersonal difficulties of adolescents with AN. Developing autonomy and independence from parents and building trustworthy relationships with peers may be favored by improving familiar dynamics and may contribute to prevent the maintenance of AN.

A randomised controlled feasibility trial of intermittent theta burst stimulation with an open longer-term follow-up for young people with persistent anorexia nervosa (RaISE): Study protocol.

We present the protocol of a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) for young people with anorexia nervosa (AN). Effective first-line psychological therapies exist for young people with AN, but little is known about how to treat those who do not respond. Non-invasive neuromodulation, such as iTBS, could address unmet treatment needs by targeting neurocircuitry associated with the development and/or maintenance of AN. Sixty-six young people (aged 13-30years) with persistent AN will be randomly allocated to receive 20 sessions of real or sham iTBS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in addition to their usual treatment. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, post-treatment (1-month post-randomisation) and 4-months post-randomisation (when unblinding will occur). Additional open follow-ups will be conducted at 12- and 24-months post-randomisation. The primary feasibility outcome is the proportion of participants retained in the study at 4-months. Secondary outcomes include AN symptomatology, other psychopathology, quality of life, service utilisation, neurocognitive processes, and neuroimaging measures. Findings will inform the development of a future large-scale RCT. They will also provide exploratory data on treatment efficacy, and neural and neurocognitive predictors and correlates of treatment response to iTBS in AN.

Reducing Relapse by Enhancing Reward Responsivity in Anorexia Nervosa: The VIBRANT (Virtual Interventions for Bolstering Recovery following Anorexia Nervosa Treatment) Trial †.

The post-acute phase of anorexia nervosa (AN) following discharge from higher-level care is a high-risk period in which relapse rates are high and many individuals lack access to effective treatment. Even after acute nutritional stabilization, AN is characterized by decreased biobehavioral sensitivity towards general rewards and elevated sensitivity towards weight-loss cues. These reward patterns may continue to maintain eating disorder and comorbid affective symptoms. To address these gaps in the treatment literature for post-acute AN, we propose a randomized controlled trial comparing Positive Affect Treatment for AN (PAT-AN), a neuroscience-informed therapy adapted to target these reward imbalances in AN, to more standard psychoeducational and behavioral treatment (PBT) for eating disorders following acute care. Adult participants (N = 80) with broad AN, including atypical AN, discharged from intensive treatment (e.g., residential, partial hospitalization) for AN within the past 6 months will be randomly assigned to 24 weeks of remotely-delivered PAT-AN or PBT. We will compare the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of each treatment to augment post-acute outpatient care for AN. A multimodal neurocognitive and self-report battery will assess eating pathology, comorbid symptom, and putative reward mechanism changes over the course of treatment (i.e., baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, three-month follow-up) and on a week-to-week basis. This trial will, for the first time, directly target observed reward disturbances in the post-acute period of AN. Thus, this investigation has the potential to simultaneously evaluate a novel, efficacious treatment for AN and to further evaluate the role of reward dysfunction in AN maintenance.

Neural representations of anxiety in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a multivariate approach

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by low body weight, fear of gaining weight, and distorted body image. Anxiety may play a role in the formation and course of the illness, especially related to situations involving food, eating, weight, and body image. To understand distributed patterns and consistency of neural responses related to anxiety, we enrolled 25 female adolescents with AN and 22 non-clinical female adolescents with mild anxiety who underwent two fMRI sessions in which they saw personalized anxiety-provoking word stimuli and neutral words. Consistency in brain response patterns across trials was determined using a multivariate representational similarity analysis (RSA) approach within anxiety circuits and in a whole-brain voxel-wise searchlight analysis. In the AN group there was higher representational similarity for anxiety-provoking compared with neutral stimuli predominantly in prefrontal regions including the frontal pole, medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex, although no significant group differences. Severity of anxiety correlated with consistency of brain responses within anxiety circuits and in cortical and subcortical regions including the frontal pole, middle frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus, lateral occipital cortex, middle temporal gyrus, and cerebellum. Higher consistency of activation in those with more severe anxiety symptoms suggests the possibility of a greater degree of conditioned brain responses evoked by personally-relevant emotional stimuli. Anxiety elicited by disorder-related stimuli may activate stereotyped, previously-learned neural responses within- and outside of classical anxiety circuits. Results have implications for understanding consistent and automatic responding to environmental stimuli that may play a role in maintenance of AN.

A multidimensional examination of affective and cognitive empathy in anorexia nervosa.

Socio-emotional features are crucial in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). The present study investigates the patterns of altered and preserved empathic abilities in AN. Empathy is an umbrella term that comprises the ability to recognise another's emotional state, take another's perspective, and fantasise (cognitive empathy), as well as the ability to experience vicarious emotions and signal them (affective empathy). These empathic abilities were measured in 43 AN patients and 33 healthy women through a multi-method approach comprising self-report measures, behavioural tasks and bodily correlates. Further, we assessed self-reported approach-avoidance attitudes towards suffering others. Results showed that, within the domain of cognitive empathy, AN patients reported impairment in recognising emotional expressions of anger and fantasising. Concerning affective empathy, they manifested lower sharing of others' positive emotions, higher self-reported distress, and higher facial expressiveness during a video depicting a suffering person. Finally, AN patients reported lower motivation to approach suffering others. Our results draw a complex picture of preserved and altered empathic abilities in AN and capture which are the deficits mediated by the higher levels of anxiety and depression reported by the AN population and those that seem to persist independently from these co-morbid conditions.

Cognitive and Interpersonal Factors in Adolescent Inpatients with Anorexia Nervosa: A Network Analysis

The cognitive-interpersonal model of anorexia nervosa (AN) posits that cognitive and interpersonal traits contribute to the development and maintenance of AN. We investigated cognitive and interpersonal factors put forward by the model in a sample of 145 adolescent inpatients with AN using network analysis. Our main outcomes included core eating disorder symptoms, cognitive style, socio-affective factors, and mood symptoms. We estimated a cross-sectional network using graphical LASSO. Core and bridge symptoms were identified using strength centrality. Goldbricker was used to reduce topological overlap. The node with the highest strength centrality was Concern over Mistakes, followed by Eating Preoccupation, Social Fear, and Overvaluation of Weight and Shape. The nodes with the highest bridge strength were Concern over Mistakes, Doubt about Actions, Overvaluation of Weight and Shape, and Depression. Notably, both performance on a cognitive flexibility task and BMI were not connected to any other nodes and were subsequently removed from the final network. We provide partial support for the cognitive-interpersonal model while also supporting certain premises put forward by the transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral model. The high centrality of Concern over Mistakes and Social Fear supports the theory that both cognitive and interpersonal difficulties contribute to AN, particularly in adolescence.

Personality Disorder in Adolescent Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Objective: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a highly debilitating disease which frequently results in chronification and often originates in adolescence. Personality traits have been associated with the onset and maintenance of AN; moreover, study results indicated a worse treatment outcome in patients with AN and comorbid personality disorder (PD). However, research on PD in adolescent AN is scarce. Methods: The sample consists of 73 female adolescent patients with AN. We investigated comorbid PD and AN symptom severity performing the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) and the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI-2). Results: Almost a third (27.4%) of all participants were diagnosed with comorbid PD. They had significantly higher EDI-2 total scores reflecting overall stronger symptom severity, as well as significantly higher scores in the subscales “ineffectiveness,” “interpersonal distrust,” “interoceptive awareness,” “asceticism,” “impulse regulation,” and “social insecurity.” Conclusion: PD is an important and frequent comorbid condition in adolescent AN and should be addressed in diagnostic and treatment planning. Early diagnosis of comorbidity could have an impact on choosing specialized treatment for adolescents with AN and PD in order to enhance the outcome.

The relationship between shame, perfectionism and Anorexia Nervosa: A grounded theory study.

The aim of this study was to explore the potential relationship between shame, perfectionism and Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and their impact on recovery from AN. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 people currently accessing services for AN. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using constructivist-grounded theory methodology. A model was developed which found a vicious cycle between shame and perfectionism. Participants tried to alleviate their feelings of shame by striving for perfectionism, however failing caused them more shame. Participants who disclosed childhood trauma believed their shame preceded their perfectionism. Participants who did not disclose trauma either believed their perfectionism preceded shame or they were unsure of which occurred first. Participants' responses suggested the following pathways from perfectionism to AN: needing goals; the need for a perfect life including a perfect body and AN being something they could be perfect at. The pathways identified between shame and AN entailed mechanisms via which AN could be used to escape shame, either by seeking pride through AN, seeking to numb shame through AN, seeking to escape body shame and punishing the self. AN was found to feed back into shame in two ways: when people had AN they felt ashamed when they broke their dietary rules, and also simultaneously people felt ashamed of their AN as they were not able to recover. Shame and perfectionism influenced one another in a cyclical pattern, in which shame drove perfectionism and not attaining high standards led to shame. Shame and perfectionism also impacted on recovery in several ways. AN functioned to numb participants' emotions, becoming part of their identity over time. AN also brought respite from a constant striving towards perfectionism. The need for a perfect recovery also influenced their motivation to engage in treatment, and fear of a return of strong emotions was another deterrent to recovery. The findings of this paper show perfectionism and shame to both be important in the aetiology and maintenance of AN and to have an impact on recovery from AN.

Aberrant gastric functioning in weight-restored but not acute restricting-type anorexia nervosa: An electrogastrography study.

Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) have high levels of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, functional GI disorders, and alterations in interoception. The primary aims of the current study were to determine (1) whether individuals with AN differed in gastric physiology as measured by electrogastrography (EGG) as compared to healthy individuals and (2) whether their EGG activity changed from pre- to post-weight restoration. Adolescent and young adult females receiving inpatient treatment for restricting-type AN (n= 20) and healthy control females (n= 21) completed two EGG sessions, with measurements taken in fasting state and after administration of a water load. Participants with AN completed the first session while underweight and the second session following weight restoration. Healthy control participants also completed two sessions matched for length of time between sessions. Participants with AN exhibited decreased normogastria post-water load when they were weight restored compared to when they were underweight. Healthy control participants' EGG measures were stable across sessions. Findings provide evidence for aberrant gastric physiology in individuals with AN who have been weight restored, but not those in the acute phase of the illness. This supports the need for further research on GI functioning in AN. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a highly debilitating eating disorder that is difficult to treat. The causes of AN are largely unknown, but some theories suggest problems in gastrointestinal functioning may contribute to the disorder. This study found aberrant gastric functioning in individuals diagnosed with AN after weight restoration treatment. These findings contribute to our understanding of the causes and maintenance of AN and may ultimately lead to better treatments.

Seeing Through the Façade of Anorexia: A Grounded Theory of Emotional Change Processes Associated With Recovery From Anorexia Nervosa.

ObjectivesDifficulties in managing emotions have been implicated in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN), and psychological treatment models seek to address this in putative targets of change. Yet the field of psychotherapy remains unclear and insufficiently evidenced about the process of change and how this is actually achieved, including in what steps and in what order within clinical treatment. This qualitative study sought to develop theory about the process of emotional change during recovery from anorexia.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were carried out with nine women currently engaged in psychological treatment for anorexia. Interviews included questions pertaining to participants’ experience of anorexia, emotions, and emotion management. A constructivist version of grounded theory was employed.ResultsThe analysis produced 10 major categories, comprising over 60 focused codes. Categories were clustered together into three super categories, reflecting 3 distinct but interrelated phases of participants’ journeys toward recovery. The phases were: (1) Coping in a world of uncertainty, (2) Seeing through the façade of anorexia, and (3) Recovery and growth. Whilst movement toward later positions often appeared to be contingent on earlier ones, the analysis suggests that this was not an entirely linear process and that participants moved between positions as they grappled with the process of change. Participants came to view behaviors associated with anorexia as emotion-management strategies that were not working and as a façade. As they moved toward recovery and growth, they became less confined by their need for safety, and to see emotions as meaningful and valuable. Becoming more connected to emotional experience and expression, coincided with positive shifts in their intra and interpersonal relationships.ConclusionThese findings support the recent shift toward emotion-focused models of anorexia. They also highlight an important focus in supporting individuals with AN to connect with, and be guided by, emotional experiences in their relationships with themselves and the world around them. This new grounded theory offers a putative process of change that could be utilized to guide intervention development.

Computer Based Body Exposure in Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa: A Study Protocol.

Body dissatisfaction is a core feature of eating disorders (EDs) and plays an essential role in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). In the current study, a computer based body exposure intervention is conducted and evaluated regarding short-term effects on body dissatisfaction, psychopathology, viewing patterns, and stress reactivity. Within a randomized controlled trial (RCT) female adolescents and young women with AN are either receiving the intervention or treatment as usual (TAU). Furthermore, in a transdiagnostic approach, a highly body-dissatisfied group of clinical control participants obtaining the intervention will be surveyed to identify AN-specific processes. The standardized four-session body exposure intervention using photographs of the own body is adapted from a manualized body image treatment program for computer use. Psychopathology (body dissatisfaction, body image avoidance, body checking, depression, anxiety) is assessed via standardized questionnaires before and after the intervention. During each session, attentional biases regarding one's own body are measured via eye tracking, stress levels are measured via subjective ratings, heart rate variability, as well as salivary cortisol and alpha amylase. Between- and within-subject effects will be assessed. The pilot study aims to identify short-term effects of the intervention on body dissatisfaction and attentional bias, as well as to investigate the potential underlying mechanism of physiological habituation.

Visualizing Emotional Arousal within the Context of Body Size Evaluation: A Pilot Study of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials in Women with Anorexia Nervosa and Healthy Controls.

Maladaptive body size evaluation processes and body dissatisfaction are known as central risk factors for the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study aimed to experimentally test potential key facets, such as (psycho)physiological, cognitive-verbal and behavioral mechanisms, within the context of these evaluation processes. Twenty-two females with AN (AN-G) and 22 healthy controls (HC-G) looked at pictures of their body gradually increasing in weight using a morphing technique. Implicit emotional arousal was assessed using steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) in electroencephalography. Additionally, in a forced-choice body size evaluation task, participants were asked to classify pictures of their own body as not big or big while reaction times were captured. A significantly earlier increase in SSVEPs emerged in AN-G compared to HC-G (p <.05), with AN-G evaluating their bodies in the morphing process as big at a significantly thinner body size (p <.05). The AN-G showed faster reaction times in the categorical evaluation of body stimuli (p <.05). Findings from this multimodal paradigm underline the importance of body size evaluation mechanisms and underlying emotional arousal for AN. A differentiated understanding of these processes is essential, since the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for AN is limited and relapses are frequent.

Cognitive remediation therapy for anorexia nervosa as a rolling group intervention: Data from a longitudinal study in an eating disorders specialized inpatient unit

ObjectiveCognitive remediation therapy (CRT) has been proposed as an add‐on treatment approach that could increase the engagement in treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients and reduce maintaining factors, but prior studies have evaluated CRT in individual and group settings, difficult protocols for rehabilitation settings. Our aim is to evaluate the CRT rolling protocol implementation in an inpatient specialised unit.MethodsA historical longitudinal controlled study was designed to include 31 AN patients for the CRT program, and 28 AN patients treated as usual. The CRT rolling group was implemented in a multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation ward with both adolescent and adult patients and an 8‐weeks protocol. To evaluate the treatment implementation effect, different self‐administered questionnaires were used.ResultsThe study found greater improvements of the CRT group in clinical symptomatology (p = 0.039), flexibility (p = 0.003), self‐confidence about the ability to change (p < 0.001), and less short‐term focus (p < 0.001), with no differences between restrictive and binge‐purging patients.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that CRT rolling group protocol is feasible in an inpatient treatment setting and may improve a rehabilitation program's outcome. Our results have shown how CRT can influence cognitive styles considered AN maintenance factors, positively affecting both restrictive and binge‐purge type.

Emotional regulation and attachment in adolescents with anorexia nervosa

IntroductionThe aim of the present study was to investigate emotional regulation and attachment in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN).ObjectivesAnorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder (ED) characterized by self-starvation driving by weight, shape, and eating concerns and extreme dread of food, eating, and normal body weight. Dysfunctional emotional processing and regulation play an important role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Difficulties with emotional awareness and regulation in EDs are hypothesized to have their origins in childhood attachment.MethodsThe study population (N=20) consists of two research groups of patients with AN (group A) and general population controls (group B), matched for gender and age. The age of patients was 12-18 years. All adolescents were female. This study examined the attachment states of mind, assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and emotion regulation difficulties, measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).ResultsGroup A reported significantly higher attachment insecurity (82% vs 50%) than group B. Group A show higher DERS total (nonacceptance, goals, and impulsivity scores) than group B.ConclusionsStudy results show a crucial role of attachment insecurity and emotional dysregulation in the development and maintenance of AN. Developing interventions to improve emotional management skills in the treatment of patients with AN can be an important component in improving treatment outcomes.

Is Serum BDNF Altered in Acute, Short- and Long-Term Recovered Restrictive Type Anorexia Nervosa?

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin involved in the regulation of food intake and body weight, has been implicated in the development and maintenance of Anorexia nervosa (AN). The majority of previous studies reported lower BDNF levels in acutely underweight AN patients (acAN) and increasing levels after weight rehabilitation. Here, we investigated serum BDNF concentrations in the largest known AN sample to date, both before and after weight restoration therapy. Serum BDNF was measured in 259 female volunteers: 77 in-patient acAN participants of the restrictive type (47 reassessed after short-term weight rehabilitation), 62 individuals long-term recovered from AN, and 120 healthy controls. We validated our findings in a post-hoc mega-analysis in which we reanalyzed combined data from the current sample and those from our previous study on BDNF in AN (combined sample: 389 participants). All analyses carefully accounted for known determinants of BDNF (age, sex, storage time of blood samples). We further assessed relationships with relevant clinical variables (body-mass-index, physical activity, symptoms). Contrary to our hypotheses, we found zero significant differences in either cross-sectional or longitudinal comparisons and no significant relationships with clinical variables. Together, our study suggests that BDNF may not be a reliable state- or trait-marker in AN after all.

The relationship between weight change and C3 complement levels in patients with anorexia nervosa

Objective: Anorexia Nervosa (AN) affects the entire body with serious medical conditions and has the highest mortality rates in any psychiatric disorder. These medical abnormalities are reversible after weight gain and resolution of the underlying anorectic state. The role of the immune system in the development and maintenance of AN is apparently underestimated. Changes in the complement system, particularly C3 in AN, are not well understood. This study was designed to evaluate changes in body weight and complement C3 levels. Method: This study was designed as a prospective study on 12 female AN patients. Serum samples were taken biweekly for 4 times. The serum levels of complement C3 levels were quantified and correlated with the body mass index (BMI). Repeated measures of ANOVA were used to determine changes in BMI and C3 complement levels. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis was used to determine the relationship between BMI and complement C3 levels over time. Results: An increase in C3 levels was observed in the analysis of the data according to the increase in body weight of the patients as a result of eating of AN patients. There was a significant increase in C3 levels (p=0.042) and BMI levels of the patients (p=0.01). The increase in BMI was followed by the increase in C3 level. BMI increases over time were statistically correlated with changes in C3 levels. Conclusion: Increasing C3 levels with increasing BMI during the treatment process are parallel. Complement ‘C3’ serum levels potentially serving as a guide for monitoring the refeeding process also could be a useful marker for determining and monitoring the treatment success in AN.

Gut microbiota alteration in a mouse model of anorexia nervosa

Rationale: Anorexia Nervosa is a severe disease depending on both biological, psychological and environmental factors. The gut microbiota has recently been proposed as one of the biological factors potentially involved in the onset or maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa (1). To unravel the potential role of the gut microbiota in this disease, we characterized the dysbiosis occurring in a mouse model of Anorexia combining food restriction and physical activity. We then correlated bacteria level changes with different physiological parameters such as body weight, food intake or levels of hypothalamic neuropeptides.

Positive emotion and motivational dynamics in anorexia nervosa: A positive emotion amplification model (PE-AMP).

The role of positive emotion in anorexia nervosa (AN) has been underappreciated in both theory and treatment. Yet, people with AN demonstrate high motivation for and sustained effort toward weight loss, achieving success to an extreme beyond the capability of most people. Positive emotion dysregulation may facilitate and reinforce such efforts. The positive emotion amplification (PE-AMP) model of AN describes a dynamic interplay between biologically based enhanced reward responding and cognitive-behavioral factors that amplify positive emotion, resulting in positive feedback cycles that motivate and reinforce weight loss behavior during the AN onset phase. These experiences subvert the pursuit of happiness by providing artificial senses of autonomy, competency, and relatedness to others (self-determination theory; Ryan & Deci, 2000) that provide a stark contrast to an otherwise negative emotional environment, resulting in the emergence and persistence of AN psychopathology as a self-sustaining sense of purpose. Ultimately, negative emotion, PE dysregulation, and artificial self-determination threats continue to drive AN behavior during the AN maintenance phase, pushing patients toward a genuine self-determination breakdown that can lead to hospitalization, health crises, relational strife and diminished quality of life, or even manifest in suicidal behavior. Future research directions and novel methodological approaches inspired by the PE-AMP model are discussed, as are important treatment implications for addressing this highly treatment-resistant disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).