Differential motivational responses to food and pleasurable cues in anorexia and bulimia nervosa: a startle reflex paradigm.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Abnormal perceptions of food and shape underpin the cognitive behavioural model of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to investigate motivational processing of disorder-specific and standard emotional cues in anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) using startle eyeblink modulation (SEM). SEM was used because it is sensitive to motivational states of approach (appetitive response) and withdrawal (aversive response), which are independent of conscious intentional control.

METHOD:
Acoustically elicited SEM and subjective anxiety ratings were measured in 30 female patients with an ED (n=15 AN, n=15 BN) and 30 female control subjects while they viewed ED-relevant stimuli (food, female bodies) and standardized emotional pictures.

RESULTS:
BN subjects showed an appetitive response (startle inhibition) to food relative to neutral cues that differed significantly from AN subjects. By contrast, self-reports indicated significantly increased anxiety related to food cues across both ED groups. To female body picture (relative to neutral) cues, no significant between-group differences were found for SEM. ED subjects unexpectedly showed an aversive response (startle potentiation) to positive cues, in contrast to controls, who showed the established startle attenuation.

CONCLUSIONS:
These preliminary results suggest that BN patients demonstrated an exaggerated appetitive response to food but not to standardized positive cues, whereas SEM in AN patients points to a generalized failure to activate the appetitive motivational system. Differences in motivational salience to food cues are in line with distinctions between AN and BN in eating behaviour and food consumption and support differential treatment requirements.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Friederich, Hans-Christoph (HC); Kumari, Veena (V); Uher, Rudolf (R); Riga, Marianthy (M); Schmidt, Ulrike (U); Campbell, Iain C (IC); Herzog, Wolfgang (W); Treasure, Janet (J);

Affiliation: Eating Disorders Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. hans-christoph.friederich(-atsign-)med.uni-heidelberg.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Psychological medicine (Psychol Med), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 36 (issue 9) : pp 1327-35

Dates: Created 2006/08/08; Completed 2006/12/28; Revised 2007/08/21;

PMID: 16790080, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Affect
Anorexia Nervosa - epidemiology; physiopathology; psychology
Body Image
Body Mass Index
Bulimia Nervosa - epidemiology; physiopathology; psychology
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; epidemiology
Cues

Cues
Demography
Female
Food
Humans
Motivation
Severity of Illness Index
Startle Reaction - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.