Hemispheric differences in body image in anorexia nervosa.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Body image disturbance is a core feature of anorexia nervosa (AN).
• Understanding the neurocognitive underpinnings of body image distortion in AN is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate hemispheric differences in body image perception in women with AN.
• To test the hypothesis of an inappropriately fatter body image representation in the left cerebral hemisphere (LH) compared to the right (RH) in AN.

Main Methods:

• A divided visual field experiment comparing women with AN symptomatology to thin controls.
• Presentation of distorted and undistorted body images to the left and right visual fields.
• Participant judgments of body size (thinner, equal, fatter) and response times.

Main Results:

• AN participants showed a bias towards perceiving fatter body distortions as their own size, with faster responses to stimuli presented to the LH.
• Slower responses and fewer "equal" judgments for thinner distortions presented to the LH compared to the RH.
• Hemispheric differences were primarily observed in individuals with a history of AN, not those currently experiencing AN.

Conclusions:

• Brain lateralization, specifically hemispheric processing differences, may be a key factor in understanding body image disturbances in AN.
• The findings suggest that a history of AN is associated with distinct patterns of cerebral processing related to body image.