Lavagnino Luca, Amianto Federico, D'Agata Federico, Huang Zirui, Mortara Paolo, Abbate-Daga Giovanni, Marzola Enrica, Spalatro Angela, Fassino Secondo, Northoff Georg
Department of Neuroscience, AOU San Giovanni Battista , Turin , Italy ; Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group , Ottawa, ON , Canada.
Department of Neuroscience, AOU San Giovanni Battista , Turin , Italy.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2014 Aug 4;8:270. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00270. eCollection 2014.
Alterations in the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of several brain networks have been demonstrated in eating disorders. However, very few studies are currently available on brain network dysfunctions in bulimia nervosa (BN). The somatosensory network is central in processing body-related stimuli and it may be altered in BN. The present study therefore aimed to investigate rs-FC in the somatosensory network in bulimic women.
Sixteen medication-free women with BN (age = 23 ± 5 years) and 18 matched controls (age = 23 ± 3 years) underwent a functional magnetic resonance resting-state scan and assessment of eating disorder symptoms. Within-network and seed-based functional connectivity analyses were conducted to assess rs-FC within the somatosensory network and to other areas of the brain.
Bulimia nervosa patients showed a decreased rs-FC both within the somatosensory network (t = 9.0, df = 1, P = 0.005) and with posterior cingulate cortex and two visual areas (the right middle occipital gyrus and the right cuneus) (P = 0.05 corrected for multiple comparison). The rs-FC of the left paracentral lobule with the right middle occipital gyrus correlated with psychopathology measures like bulimia (r = -0.4; P = 0.02) and interoceptive awareness (r = -0.4; P = 0.01). Analyses were conducted using age, BMI (body mass index), and depressive symptoms as covariates.
Our findings show a specific alteration of the rs-FC of the somatosensory cortex in BN patients, which correlates with eating disorder symptoms. The region in the right middle occipital gyrus is implicated in body processing and is known as extrastriate body area (EBA). The connectivity between the somatosensory cortex and the EBA might be related to dysfunctions in body image processing. The results should be considered preliminary due to the small sample size.
多项研究已证实饮食失调患者存在多个脑网络静息态功能连接（rs-FC）的改变。然而，目前关于神经性贪食症（BN）脑网络功能障碍的研究非常少。体感网络在处理身体相关刺激方面起着核心作用，可能在BN中发生改变。因此，本研究旨在调查贪食症女性的体感网络中的rs-FC。
16名未服用药物的BN女性（年龄=23±5岁）和18名匹配的对照组（年龄=23±3岁）接受了功能磁共振静息态扫描和饮食失调症状评估。进行了网络内和基于种子点的功能连接分析，以评估体感网络内以及与大脑其他区域的rs-FC。
神经性贪食症患者在体感网络内（t=9.0，自由度=1，P=0.005）以及与后扣带回皮层和两个视觉区域（右侧枕中回和右侧楔叶）的rs-FC均降低（经多重比较校正后P=0.05）。左侧中央旁小叶与右侧枕中回的rs-FC与诸如贪食（r=-0.4；P=0.02）和内感受性觉知（r=-0.4；P=0.01）等精神病理学指标相关。分析以年龄、体重指数（BMI）和抑郁症状作为协变量。
我们的研究结果显示BN患者体感皮层的rs-FC存在特定改变，这与饮食失调症状相关。右侧枕中回区域参与身体加工，被称为纹外体区（EBA）。体感皮层与EBA之间的连接可能与身体意象加工功能障碍有关。由于样本量较小，这些结果应被视为初步结果。
