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Published on: June 5, 2016
Increased temporal discounting in bulimia nervosa.
Maria Kekic1, Savani Bartholdy1, Jiumu Cheng1
1Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN) exhibit heightened temporal discounting (TD), preferring immediate rewards over delayed ones. This altered decision-making may contribute to binge-eating and compensatory behaviors, suggesting TD as a potential intervention target.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Eating Disorders
Background:
- Eating disorders are associated with altered intertemporal choice behavior.
- Individuals with anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder show altered temporal discounting (TD) rates.
- This study is the first to examine TD in individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate temporal discounting (TD) in individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN).
- To compare TD rates and gratification delay capacity between individuals with BN and healthy controls (HC).
Main Methods:
- A hypothetical monetary temporal discounting (TD) task was administered to 39 individuals with BN and 53 healthy controls (HC).
- Participants made binary choices between smaller-sooner and larger-delayed monetary rewards.
- Self-reported ability to delay gratification was also assessed.
Main Results:
- Individuals with BN demonstrated significantly greater temporal discounting (TD) compared to HC.
- Participants with BN reported a lower capacity to delay gratification than HC.
- No significant differences in age, gender ratio, or BMI were observed between groups.
Conclusions:
- Elevated temporal discounting (TD) may underlie core symptoms of bulimia nervosa (BN), such as binge-eating and compensatory behaviors.
- Altered intertemporal choice behavior, specifically TD, represents a potential therapeutic target for BN interventions.
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