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SPECT imaging of body dysmorphic disorder
Paul Carey1, Soraya Seedat, James Warwick
1MRC Unit for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, University of Stellenbosch, P.O. Box 19063, Tygerberg, Cape Town, South Africa. pcarey@sun.ac.za
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
|September 21, 2004
Summary
Brain scans using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) SPECT in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) subjects revealed varied results. Parietal region involvement suggests altered body perception, but more research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition characterized by obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance.
- The neurobiological underpinnings of BDD remain poorly understood, with ongoing debate regarding its classification within obsessive-compulsive or affective disorder spectra.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional brain activity in individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) using neuroimaging.
- To explore potential neuroanatomical correlates of altered body perception in BDD.
Main Methods:
- Six subjects diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) underwent brain imaging.
- Technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime ([99mTc]HMPAO) was used for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans to assess regional cerebral blood flow.
Main Results:
- SPECT scans demonstrated a wide range of discrepant findings across the six subjects.
- No immediate evidence was found to strongly support classifying BDD within either the obsessive-compulsive or affective disorder spectrums based on these scans.
- A notable finding was the involvement of parietal brain regions, which aligns with the characteristic distorted body image reported in BDD.
Conclusions:
- Preliminary findings suggest that BDD may not fit neatly into existing obsessive-compulsive or affective disorder categories.
- Parietal lobe activity in BDD patients warrants further investigation as a potential neural basis for altered body perception.
- Systematic, larger-scale functional imaging studies are necessary to elucidate the neurobiology of Body Dysmorphic Disorder.