Anorexia Nervosa during Adolescence Is Associated with Decreased Gray Matter Volume in the Inferior Frontal Gyrus

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by the relentless pursuit to lose weight, mostly through self-starvation, and a distorted body image. AN tends to begin during adolescence among women. However, the underlying neural mechanisms related to AN remain unclear. Using voxel-based morphometry based on magnetic resonance imaging scans, we investigated whether the presence of AN was associated with discernible changes in brain morphology. Participants were 20 un-medicated, right-handed patients with early-onset AN and 14 healthy control subjects. Group differences in gray matter volume (GMV) were assessed using high-resolution, T1-weighted, volumetric magnetic resonance imaging datasets (3T Trio scanner; Siemens AG) and analyzed after controlling for age and total GMV, which was decreased in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (left IFG: FWE corrected, p < 0.05; right IFG: uncorrected, p < 0.05) of patients with AN. The GMV in the bilateral IFG correlated significantly with current age (left IFG: r = -.481, p < .05; right IFG: r = -.601, p < .01) and was limited to the AN group. We speculate that decreased IFG volume might lead to deficits in executive functioning or inhibitory control within neural reward systems. Precocious or unbalanced neurological trimming within this particular region might be an important factor for the pathogenesis of AN onset.