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In first presentation adolescent anorexia nervosa, do cognitive markers of underweight status change with weight gain following a refeeding intervention?
Author(s) -
Hatch Ainslie,
Madden Sloane,
Kohn Michael R.,
Clarke Simon,
Touyz Stephen,
Gordon Evian,
Williams Leanne M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.20695
Subject(s) - underweight , anorexia nervosa , weight gain , psychology , cognition , verbal fluency test , working memory , overweight , executive functions , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , audiology , neuropsychology , psychiatry , medicine , body weight , obesity , eating disorders
Abstract Objective: To determine the nature and severity of cognitive functioning impairment in adolescent anorexia nervosa (AN) when underweight and following weight gain. Method: In 37 first admission adolescent (12–18 years) AN patients and 45 matched controls, general cognitive functions were assessed at baseline and follow‐up using the IntegNeuro‐computerized battery. AN participants were tested between days 3 and 10 of their admission when underweight, with retesting conducted after weight restoration. Results: When underweight, AN participants performed more poorly than controls on sensori‐motor speed tasks and exhibited a susceptibility to interference, but had superior working memory. Once the weight is restored, individuals significantly improved relative to their own performance. Relative to controls, they were significantly faster on attention and executive function tasks, exhibited superior verbal fluency, working memory, and a significantly superior ability to inhibit well‐learnt responses. Discussion: Cognitive impairments in adolescent AN appear to normalize with refeeding and weight gain. © 2009 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2010