Department of Neurosciences, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.
Computational Imaging Group for MR diagnostics & therapy, Center for Image Sciences, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 9;16(4):e0231684. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231684. eCollection 2021.
The present study aims to extend the knowledge of the neural correlates of emotion processing in first episode subjects affected by anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN). We applied an emotional distress paradigm targeting negative emotions thought to be relevant for interpersonal difficulties and therapeutic resistance mechanisms.
The current study applied to 44 female participants with newly diagnosed AN or BN and 20 matched controls a neuroimaging paradigm eliciting affective responses. The measurements also included an extensive assessment comprising clinical scales, neuropsychological tests, measures of emotion processing and empathy.
AN and BN did not differ from controls in terms of emotional response, emotion matching, self-reported empathy and cognitive performance. However, eating disorder and psychopathological clinical scores, as well as alexithymia levels, were increased in AN and BN. On a neural level, no significant group differences emerged, even when focusing on a region of interest selected a priori: the amygdala. Some interesting findings put in relation the hippocampal activity with the level of Body Dissatisfaction of the participants, the relative importance of the key nodes for the common network in the decoding of different emotions (BN = right amygdala, AN = anterior cingulate area), and the qualitative profile of the deactivations.
Our data do not support the hypothesis that participants with AN or BN display reduced emotional responsiveness. However, peculiar characteristics in emotion processing could be associated to the three different groups. Therefore, relational difficulties in eating disorders, as well as therapeutic resistance, could be not secondary to a simple difficulty in feeling and identifying basic negative emotions in AN and BN participants.
本研究旨在扩展对首次发作的厌食症（AN）或贪食症（BN）患者情绪处理的神经相关性的认识。我们应用了一种针对被认为与人际困难和治疗抵抗机制有关的负性情绪的情感困扰范式。
本研究对 44 名新诊断的 AN 或 BN 女性患者和 20 名匹配的对照者应用了一种诱发情感反应的神经影像学范式。测量还包括广泛的评估，包括临床量表、神经心理学测试、情绪处理和共情的测量。
AN 和 BN 在情绪反应、情绪匹配、自我报告的共情和认知表现方面与对照组没有差异。然而，饮食障碍和精神病理学临床评分以及述情障碍水平在 AN 和 BN 中增加。在神经水平上，即使关注预先选择的感兴趣区域，也没有出现显著的组间差异：杏仁核。一些有趣的发现将参与者的体不满意程度与海马体的活动联系起来，共同网络中关键节点对不同情绪解码的相对重要性（BN = 右侧杏仁核，AN = 前扣带区），以及去激活的定性特征。
我们的数据不支持 AN 或 BN 患者表现出降低的情绪反应性的假设。然而，情绪处理中的特殊特征可能与三个不同的组有关。因此，饮食障碍中的关系困难以及治疗抵抗可能不是 AN 和 BN 参与者在感受和识别基本负性情绪方面的简单困难的结果。
