Premium
Body schema and self‐representation in patients with bulimia nervosa
Author(s) -
Urgesi Cosimo,
Fornasari Livia,
De Faccio Sara,
Perini Laura,
Mattiussi Elisa,
Ciano Rossana,
Balestrieri Matteo,
Fabbro Franco,
Brambilla Paolo
Publication year - 2011
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.20816
Subject(s) - body schema , bulimia nervosa , psychology , neuropsychology , schema (genetic algorithms) , dysfunctional family , neuroimaging , posterior parietal cortex , eating disorders , mental representation , parietal lobe , psychiatry , clinical psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , perception , machine learning , computer science
Objective: Neuroimaging evidences in eating disorder (ED) patients document dysfunctional neural activity of the posterior parietal cortex, which is engaged in the representation of body schema. Yet a full neuropsychological investigation of body schema representation in ED patients is lacking. We examined mental imagery and body schema representation in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). Method: Consecutive samples of 15 BN patients and 15 BED patients were compared with two groups of 15 age‐matched controls in tasks requiring body or object mental transformation. Results: BN, but not BED patients, were selectively impaired in the mental transformation of their own body, although this deficit was not correlated with measures of body dissatisfaction. In contrast, no patient group was impaired in the mental transformation of external objects. Discussion: Results showed altered self‐body representation in BN, but not BED patients, as the neuropsychological consequences of posterior parietal cortex dysfunctions. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2011; 44:238–248)