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Neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa before and after cognitive remediation therapy: A feasibility trial
Author(s) -
Dahlgren Camilla Lindvall,
Lask Bryan,
Landrø Nils Inge,
Rø Øyvind
Publication year - 2013
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.22155
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , psychology , verbal fluency test , neuropsychology , anxiety , psychopathology , clinical psychology , cognition , cognitive remediation therapy , verbal memory , visual memory , eating disorders , psychiatry
Objective To investigate neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after receiving cognitive remediation therapy (CRT). Method Twenty young females with AN participated in an individually‐delivered CRT treatment program. Neuropsychological and psychiatric assessments were administered before and after treatment. Weight, depression, anxiety, duration of illness, and level of eating disorder psychopathology were considered as covariates in statistical analyses. Results Significant changes in weight, depression, visio‐spatial memory, perceptual disembedding abilities, and verbal fluency were observed. Changes in weight had a significant effect on improvements in visuo‐spatial memory and verbal fluency. Results also revealed a significant effect of depressive symptoms on perceptual disembedding abilities. Discussion The results suggest improvements on a number of neuropsychological functions during the course of CRT. Future studies should explore the use of additional assessment instruments, and include control groups to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013; 46:576–581)