Functional connectivity for face processing in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder and anorexia nervosa
T D Moody1, M A Sasaki1, C Bohon2
1Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA,Los Angeles,CA,USA.
Psychological Medicine
|July 30, 2015
Summary
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and anorexia nervosa (AN) show similar face processing abnormalities. Both disorders exhibit altered connectivity in higher-order visual networks, impacting perception of appearance.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and anorexia nervosa (AN) share distorted appearance perception.
- Previous research indicates visual processing abnormalities in BDD, but not AN.
- Direct comparisons of face processing between BDD and AN are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare face visual processing in BDD and AN.
- To examine functional connectivity differences in response to facial information.
- To explore the neural underpinnings of appearance distortion in these disorders.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in 3 groups: BDD (n=20), weight-restored AN (n=20), and healthy controls (HC, n=20).
- Participants viewed faces with high spatial frequency (HSF) or low spatial frequency (LSF) information.
- Psychophysiological interaction analyses tested functional connectivity within visual processing sub-networks.
Main Results:
- BDD showed increased connectivity for LSF faces between the occipital face area and fusiform face area (FFA), linked to symptom severity.
- Both BDD and AN displayed increased FFA connectivity with the precuneus/posterior cingulate for LSF faces.
- Decreased FFA connectivity with the insula was observed in both BDD and AN groups for LSF faces.
Conclusions:
- BDD and AN share abnormal functional connectivity in higher-order face processing systems.
- Distinct alterations in occipito-temporal visual networks were found between BDD and AN.
- Findings offer insights into the relationship between BDD and AN and their perceptual distortion mechanisms.
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