Pappaianni E, Borsarini B, Berchio C, Aicoboaie S, Konstantopoulou S V, Van de Ville D, Micali N
Center for Eating and Feeding Disorders Research (CEDaR), Mental Health Center Ballerup, Copenhagen University Hospital-Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Network Plasticity Modulation (NetPM) Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2025 Sep;33(5):1032-1043. doi: 10.1002/erv.3203. Epub 2025 Apr 24.
Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychiatric disorders characterized by impairments in neurocognition and altered brain structure. To date the majority of studies have investigated these in acutely ill or recovered individuals. Studying children at familial high risk (FHR) for psychiatric disorders allows investigating vulnerability traits or trait markers that may be present before disorder onset. Our study is the first one to examine executive function and brain structure in girls at FHR for ED (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder) compared to controls (girls not at familial high risk - HC).
Forty-six (46) FHR girls (median age: 10.5 years, range: 9) and 50 HC girls (median age: 12 years, range: 8) completed a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. Structural magnetic resonance imaging assessed grey matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT).
Girls at FHR for ED performed a higher number of errors in a cognitive flexibility task compared to HC (β = 0.15, p < 0.05). They also had increased GMV in posterior regions such as the right supramarginal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and lingual/fusiform gyrus compared to HC (p < 0.05 cluster-level FWE-corrected), as well as increased CT in the left transverse pole (p < 0.001) and right posterior cingulate cortex (p < 0.05).
Girls at FHR show characteristic neurocognitive performance similar to that seen in individuals with ED, as well as differences in brain structure compared to HC. Our findings, together with previous evidence, highlight impairment in cognitive flexibility as a possible trait marker of ED. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm differences in GMV and CT identified in this study.
饮食失调（EDs）是严重的精神疾病，其特征为神经认知障碍和脑结构改变。迄今为止，大多数研究都是在急性病患者或康复个体中进行的。对患有精神疾病家族高风险（FHR）的儿童进行研究，有助于探究疾病发作前可能存在的易感性特征或特质标记。我们的研究是首个对比患有饮食失调（神经性厌食症、神经性贪食症和暴饮暴食症）家族高风险的女孩与对照组（非家族高风险女孩 - HC）的执行功能和脑结构的研究。
46名FHR女孩（中位年龄：10.5岁，范围：9岁）和50名HC女孩（中位年龄：12岁，范围：8岁）完成了一系列神经心理学测试，以评估认知灵活性、抑制控制和工作记忆。结构磁共振成像评估了灰质体积（GMV）和皮质厚度（CT）。
与HC相比，患有饮食失调家族高风险的女孩在认知灵活性任务中出现的错误更多（β = 0.15，p < 0.05）。与HC相比，她们在右侧缘上回、枕中回和舌/梭状回等后部区域的GMV也增加（p < 0.05，聚类水平FWE校正），以及左侧颞横回（p < 0.001）和右侧后扣带回皮质（p < 0.05）的CT增加。
患有饮食失调家族高风险的女孩表现出与饮食失调个体相似的特征性神经认知表现，与HC相比脑结构也存在差异。我们的研究结果与先前的证据一起，突出了认知灵活性受损作为饮食失调可能的特质标记。需要进一步的纵向研究来证实本研究中发现的GMV和CT差异。
