Event-related potentials during recognition of semantic and pictorial food stimuli in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls with varying internal states of hunger.

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate maladaptive central processing of food cues during recognition tasks in anorexia nervosa (AN), while considering influences of nutritional preload and presentation modality (word versus picture).

METHODS

Event-related potentials to food-related word and pictorial stimuli were assessed during recognition tasks in 16 patients with AN, 16 control participants with food intake before the study, and 16 control participants with a fasting period before the study.

RESULTS

Patients with AN showed a P3b amplitude reduction especially at the midline parietal site compared with satiated controls (5.7 [standard deviation = 3.3] versus 8.7 [3.1] μV, p < .03). Subtle recognition deficits in patients with AN were indicated by smaller "old/new" effects compared with satiated (p = .049) and fasting controls (p < .003) for pictorial stimuli. Hunger-modulated enhanced old/new effects for food pictures compared with neutral pictorial stimuli could be observed in fasting controls only (2.7 [2.6] versus 0.8 [2.2] μV, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

The presented data provide evidence for a midline parietal P3b amplitude reduction in patients with AN, which might point to reduced network activation in AN even during satiety. Observed subtle recognition deficits either represent a stable trait characteristic or a "scar" effect of chronic starvation that may play a role in the development and/or persistence of the disorder.