1
|
Heled E, Ben-Baruch Polevoi B, Kushnir T, Gur E, Brener-Yaacobi R. Disentangling cognitive flexibility: a model-based assessment of women with anorexia nervosa. Eat Disord 2024:1-16. [PMID: 38937994 DOI: 10.1080/10640266.2024.2353427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility (CF) has been proposed as a potential trait marker in anorexia nervosa (AN), although findings have been inconsistent. To address this inconsistency, we applied a model that distinguishes between three subtypes of CF: task switching, switching sets, and stimulus-response mapping, which we then assessed using a paradigm-based task battery. The aim of the study was to investigate how AN is associated with these three CF subtypes. Thirty-three women with AN and 37 age- and education-matched controls performed a battery of computerized cognitive tasks to assess the three CF subtypes. Compared to the control group, individuals with AN exhibited poorer performance on the task switching and switching sets subtypes, as measured by response time switch cost, but not on the stimulus-response mapping subtype. No differences were found between the groups in response accuracy. Furthermore, switching sets as compared to the task switching and stimulus-response mapping subtypes was found to better explain the differences between the groups. These findings indicate a domain-specific impairment in CF among patients with AN, reflecting deficits observed in subtypes related to the disorder's characteristics, particularly that associated with visual perception. Therefore, CF impairment in AN should not be viewed dichotomously, but rather as a relative impairment that varies depending on the specific CF subtype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Heled
- Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
- Department of Neurological Rehabilitation, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | | | - Talma Kushnir
- Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
- Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Eytan Gur
- The Adults Eating Disorders Department, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Naraindas AM, Moreno M, Cooney SM. Beyond Gender: Interoceptive Sensibility as a Key Predictor of Body Image Disturbances. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 14:25. [PMID: 38247677 PMCID: PMC10812832 DOI: 10.3390/bs14010025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Body image disturbance (BID) involves negative attitudes towards shape and weight and is associated with lower levels of interoceptive sensibility (IS) (the subjective perceptions of internal bodily states). This association is considered a risk factor for developing eating disorders (EDs) and is linked to altered sensorimotor representations of the body (i.e., body schema). BIDs manifest across genders and are currently understudied in men. This study investigated gender-related differences in BID and its relationship to the body schema and IS. Data were collected from 86 men and 86 women. BID was assessed using questionnaires measuring self-objectification, state, and trait body dissatisfaction. IS was measured via the MAIA-2. The body schema was indexed via an embodied mental rotation task. Results showed that women reported higher BID than men across all scales. Gender differences in sub-components of interoceptive sensibility were found. Overall, both gender and interoceptive sensibility predicted BID. However, interoceptive sensibility exhibited its own unique association with BID beyond the influence of gender. BID, IS and gender were not significant predictors of performance in the body schema task. Therefore, while gender predicts differences in BID and interoceptive sensibility, there was no evidence of gender-related differences in body schema.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sarah M. Cooney
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, D04 F6X4 Dublin, Ireland;
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Naraindas AM, Cooney SM. Body image disturbance, interoceptive sensibility and the body schema across female adulthood: a pre-registered study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1285216. [PMID: 38098520 PMCID: PMC10720753 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1285216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Body image disturbance (BID) typically involves explicit negative attitudes toward one's shape and weight and is associated with altered interoceptive sensibility (the subjective perception of internal bodily states). This association is a known risk factor for the development and maintenance of eating disorders. However, while research has centred on younger women with eating disorders, diverse facets of BID appear in women without eating disorders across adulthood. Research shows that in the general population, young women (ages 18-25) with high BID exhibit disturbances in the body schema: an implicit sensorimotor representation of the body in space which includes mental simulation of a movement such as motor imagery. Given that body image is subject to age-related influences, it is important to investigate how age-related variation in BID can influence the body schema beyond young adulthood alone. Here, we examine the relationship between BID, interoceptive sensibility and the body schema across female adulthood. Methods Cross-sectional data was collected online from 1,214 women across four age groups: Young adults (18-24), Adults (25-39), Middle-aged adults (40-59), and Older aged adults (60-75). BID was indexed by questionnaires measuring body objectification, state, and trait body dissatisfaction. Interoceptive sensibility (IS) was measured using the MAIA-2 questionnaire. The body schema was evaluated through the Own Body Transformation task: a mental rotation task which assesses the capacity to make an embodied mental transformation. Results Analyses revealed that while body objectification and trait body dissatisfaction decreased from young to older adulthood, state body dissatisfaction showed a marked increase. A negative relationship between IS and BID across all age groups was also evidenced. Finally, age, BID and orientation of the presented body were significant predictors of the time taken to make an embodied transformation. Discussion These findings highlight the consistent relationship of BID and IS across age groups beyond young adulthood and demonstrate the varying importance of different aspects of BID as individuals age. We also evidence for the first time that disruptions in body image have the potential to impact implicit sensorimotor representations of the body even in women without eating disorders across female adulthood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarah M. Cooney
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Meregalli V, Tenconi E, Madan CR, Somà E, Meneguzzo P, Ceccato E, Zuanon S, Sala A, Favaro A, Collantoni E. Beyond body image: what body schema and motor imagery can tell us about the way patients with anorexia nervosa experience their body. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 77:94-101. [PMID: 36330847 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AIM Recent evidence suggests that the body image disturbance often observed in patients with anorexia nervosa also extends to the body schema. According to the embodiment approach, the body schema is not only involved in motor execution, but also in tasks that only require a mental simulation of a movement such as motor imagery, mental rotation of bodies, and visuospatial perspective-taking. The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of patients with anorexia to mentally simulate movements. METHODS The sample included 52 patients with acute anorexia and 62 healthy controls. All participants completed three tests of explicit motor imagery, a mental rotation test and a test of visuospatial perspective-taking. RESULTS Patients with anorexia nervosa, with respect to controls, reported greater difficulties in imagining movements according to a first-person perspective, lower accuracy in motor imagery, selective impairment in the mental rotation of human figures, and reduced ability in assuming a different egocentric visuospatial perspective. CONCLUSION These results are indicative of a specific alteration in motor imagery in patients with anorexia nervosa. Interestingly, patients' difficulties appear to be limited to those tasks which specifically rely on the body schema, while patients and controls performed similarly in the 3D objects mental rotation task.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Meregalli
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Elena Tenconi
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Enrica Somà
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Paolo Meneguzzo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Enrico Ceccato
- Eating Disorders Unit, Ospedale San Bortolo, Vicenza, Italy
| | - Sophia Zuanon
- Eating Disorders Unit, Ospedale San Bortolo, Vicenza, Italy
| | | | - Angela Favaro
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Enrico Collantoni
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Scarpina F, Bastoni I, Villa V, Mendolicchio L, Castelnuovo G, Mauro L, Sedda A. Self-perception in anorexia nervosa: When the body becomes an object. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108158. [PMID: 35033502 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Women with anorexia nervosa (AN) act as if they have a larger body, as evidenced in obstacle avoidance tasks, where an allocentric perspective is adopted. This alteration emerges not only when they perform, but also when they imagine movements. However, no previous study has investigated own body centered tasks. As such, in this study we aim at documenting if women with AN show an altered behaviour also when the task requires a first-person perspective. METHOD We explored the performance of eleven woman affected by AN compared to eighteen matched controls, in two motor imagery tasks based on a self-frame of reference, the Hand Laterality Task and the Mental Motor Chronometry Task. Moreover, two control tasks relative to visual imagery were administered. RESULTS In the Hand Laterality Task, affected participants did not adopt a motor strategy to judge hands laterality (i.e. no biomechanical constraints effect). Crucially, they also showed an altered behavior in the control task. Similarly, they did not show the expected isochrony in the Mental Motor Chronometry Task, when actions pertained the left (but not the right) hand, in absence of any difference in the control task. CONCLUSIONS Our findings reveal altered imagery processes in AN. Specifically, affected participants adopt a third-person, rather than a first-person perspective, even when the task requires to imagine their own body in an internal frame of reference. In other words, participants with AN objectify body stimuli. Different mechanisms (i.e., checking behaviour; mirror self-reflection; altered multisensory integration) can explain such an altered imagery in AN.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scarpina
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy.
| | - Ilaria Bastoni
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. dei Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Valentina Villa
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. dei Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Leonardo Mendolicchio
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Gianluca Castelnuovo
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; Psychology Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Leonardo Mauro
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Anna Sedda
- Psychology Department, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Cholet J, Rousselet M, Donnio Y, Burlot M, Pere M, Lambert S, Rocher B, Chirio-Espitalier M, Eyzop E, Grall-Bronnec M. Evaluation of cognitive impairment in a French sample of patients with restrictive anorexia nervosa: two distinct profiles emerged with differences in impaired functions and psychopathological symptoms. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26:1559-1570. [PMID: 32767255 PMCID: PMC8128741 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-020-00981-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The cognitive profiles of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) are currently explored as potential facilitating and/or maintenance factors. Specific data in restrictive AN (AN-R) remain contradictory. This study focused on women with AN-R to evaluate their cognitive functions to develop a more specific cognitive remediation program. METHODS Female patients older than 15 years who were suffering from AN-R were recruited in a specialized unit for eating disorder management. Female healthy control (HC) participants were recruited who were matched with AN patients on age. All participants completed a cognitive evaluation (premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ), planning, information processing speed, cognitive flexibility) and a clinical evaluation (impulsivity, anxiety, depression). RESULTS A total of 122 participants were included. Patients suffering from AN-R had significant impairment in information processing speed and planning. Patients exhibited significantly better cognitive flexibility than did the HC group when adjustments were made for other cognitive functions and impulsivity. Two distinct subgroups of patients were identified. The first subgroup had more marked cognitive impairment and fewer psychopathological symptoms than did the second subgroup of patients and the HC group. CONCLUSION Our results highlight cognitive impairment in patients with AN who had normal premorbid IQ. Two distinct profiles emerge. In clinical practice, these results open up perspectives for the development of more specific cognitive remediation programs (one specific program for cold cognitions and another specific program targeting emotions and hot cognitions). These results warrant confirmation by larger studies with a more specific evaluation of the impact of emotional status. Trial registration NTC02381639, Date of registration. March 6, 2015.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Cholet
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - M Rousselet
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France. .,U1246 SPHERE "methodS in Patient-Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch", INSERM, University of Nantes and Tours, 22 Boulevard Benoni-Goullin, 44200, Nantes, France.
| | - Y Donnio
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - M Burlot
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - M Pere
- Biostatistics Unit, Research Board, Nantes University Hospital, 5 Allées de l'île Gloriette, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - S Lambert
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - B Rocher
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - M Chirio-Espitalier
- Reference Centre for Therapeutic Education and Cognitive Remediation Care (CReSERC), Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - E Eyzop
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France
| | - M Grall-Bronnec
- Clinical Investigation Unit BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", Addictology and Psychiatry Department, University Hospital of Nantes, 85 Rue Saint Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France.,U1246 SPHERE "methodS in Patient-Centered Outcomes and HEalth ResEarch", INSERM, University of Nantes and Tours, 22 Boulevard Benoni-Goullin, 44200, Nantes, France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Visual perception and dissociation during Mirror Gazing Test in patients with anorexia nervosa: a preliminary study. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26:1541-1551. [PMID: 32757140 PMCID: PMC8128841 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-020-00977-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE It has been widely shown that dissociative features might play a fundamental role in producing body image distortions in patients affected by eating disorders. Here, we hypothesize that the Mirror Gazing Test (MGT), a task consisting in mirror exposure in a condition of sensory deprivation, would elicit dissociative symptoms in a group of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHODS Fourteen patients with AN and fourteen healthy controls (HC) underwent a 10 min MGT and completed the Strange Face Questionnaire and a short version of the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale, along with a psychological assessment for eating disorders psychopathology, anxiety and depression. RESULTS AN patients reported a higher number of strange-face apparitions and dissociative sensations than HC during the MGT. Dissociative identity (compartmentalization of two or more identities) and depersonalization (detachment of bodily-self) were much higher in patients with AN than in HC. These findings were correlated with body dissatisfaction and disruption in interoceptive awareness. CONCLUSION Dissociation and body image dysfunction are strongly connected in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa. Future research should investigate the same aspects in other psychiatric conditions characterized by body image distortions, such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I, Experimental studies.
Collapse
|