Pignatti R, Bertella L, Albani G, Mauro A, Molinari E, Semenza C
Laboratory of Psychology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Piancavallo (VB), Italy.
Eat Weight Disord. 2006 Sep;11(3):126-32. doi: 10.1007/BF03327557.
The present study addresses the issue of whether a "decision-making disorder" could account for the behavioral problems of severely obese patients (BMI score >34) who are not classified by traditional psychiatric Eating Disorder tests. The neuropsychological test employed, the Gambling Task (GT), is not directly related to the food domain, but it is sensitive to failure in making long-term advantageous choices. A comparison was made of 20 obese subjects (OS) and 20 normal-weight subjects (NWS) matched in age, education and IQ. The subjects' personalities and food behavior were assessed from psychological questionnaires, and then the Gambling Task was administered. The number of "good" choices made by the two groups during GT performance differed significantly, and the OS did not learn to maximize advantageous choices like the NWS did. OS behavior could be consistent with a prefrontal cortex defect that implies difficulties in inhibition of excessive food intake.
本研究探讨了“决策障碍”是否能解释那些未被传统精神科饮食失调测试归类的重度肥胖患者（体重指数评分>34）的行为问题。所采用的神经心理学测试——赌博任务（GT），与食物领域并无直接关联，但它对做出长期有利选择时的失败很敏感。对20名肥胖受试者（OS）和20名年龄、教育程度和智商相匹配的正常体重受试者（NWS）进行了比较。通过心理问卷评估受试者的性格和饮食行为，然后进行赌博任务。两组在执行赌博任务期间做出的“正确”选择数量存在显著差异，而且肥胖受试者不像正常体重受试者那样学会最大化有利选择。肥胖受试者的行为可能与前额叶皮质缺陷一致，这意味着在抑制过度食物摄入方面存在困难。
