Structural and functional neural patterns among sub-threshold bulimia nervosa: Abnormalities in dorsolateral...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Disordered eating behaviors are common in young people and linked to neurocognitive system dysfunction.
• Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious eating disorder with complex developmental pathophysiology.
• Understanding neural changes in individuals with subclinical bulimia symptoms (sub-BN) is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify neuroimaging differences in individuals with sub-BN compared to controls.
• To explore alterations in brain structure (gray matter volume) and function (degree centrality, functional connectivity).
• To gain insights into the developmental pathophysiology of bulimia nervosa.

Main Methods:

• Compared 145 undergraduates with sub-BN to 140 matched controls.
• Utilized MRI to assess gray matter volume (GMV) and degree centrality (DC).
• Analyzed static functional connectivity (FC) in regions showing GMV/DC differences.

Main Results:

• Sub-BN group showed abnormalities in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right orbitofrontal cortex (GMV and DC).
• Decreased FC was observed between these regions and the precuneus in the sub-BN group.
• Reduced FC was also found between calcarine and temporal/parietal gyri; brain-behavior associations were noted.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with bulimia symptoms exhibit aberrant neural patterns.
• These patterns involve brain regions critical for cognitive control, reward processing, attention, and self-referential processing.
• Findings provide valuable insights into the underlying pathology of bulimia nervosa.