Neuropsychology and anorexia nervosa. Cognitive and radiological findings

Research into neuropsychological impairments present in the patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) has advanced considerably, in the past decades. It now provides neuropsychologists with a wide field of knowledge of the changes found in the cerebral and cognitive capabilities of these patients, as well as their reversible or static features, thereby yielding a characteristic profile of neuropsychological impairment in AN.

We present a review updated to December 2010 of the results delivered by studies of both morphological and cognitive changes, providing us with an updated theoretical and practical framework for conducting future research.

The studies to date show morphological and functional cerebral changes in the patients diagnosed with AN, but have yet to clarify whether these changes occur after the onset of the disease or if, as more recent research shows, they are one of its causes and could be the basis for a tendency toward developing anorexic symptomatology. Later studies show a neuropsychological network with impairments in the prefrontal and right parietal cortices as a characteristic feature, meaning that those capacities and their related cerebral areas would play major role in the onset and development of the illness. These studies have completely changed classic theories about AN.