Emotion regulation and visual attention in body dysmorphic disorder: a multimodal study using EEG, GSR, and...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) involves preoccupation with perceived flaws and emotional dysregulation.
• Neurophysiological and attentional mechanisms in BDD are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neurophysiological and attentional mechanisms underlying BDD.
• To compare individuals with BDD and healthy controls using multimodal assessments.

Main Methods:

• Multimodal approach: electroencephalography (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR), eye-tracking.
• Psychometric assessments and exposure to emotionally valenced images.
• Mixed-model ANOVAs for group-by-valence interaction analysis.

Main Results:

• BDD group: higher depression, anxiety, body image disturbance; reduced cognitive reappraisal.
• EEG: hypervigilance (N170), reduced evaluative processing (P300), affective withdrawal (frontal alpha asymmetry).
• GSR: heightened arousal, delayed recovery. Eye-tracking: gender-specific attention patterns in BDD.

Conclusions:

• BDD involves dysregulated multisystem responses to appearance stimuli.
• Neural hyperreactivity, impaired cognitive-emotional regulation, and gender-related attention patterns characterize BDD.
• Psychophysiological and attentional markers can aid BDD assessment and intervention.