OBJECTIVE: Disturbance of body perception is a central aspect of anorexia nervosa (AN) and several neuroimaging studies have documented structural and functional alterations of occipito-temporal cortices involved in visual body processing. However, it is unclear whether these perceptual deficits involve more basic aspects of others' body perception. METHOD: A consecutive sample of 15 adolescent patients with AN were compared with a group of 15 age- and gender-matched controls in delayed matching to sample tasks requiring the visual discrimination of the form or of the action of others' body. RESULTS: Patients showed better visual discrimination performance than controls in detail-based processing of body forms but not of body actions, which positively correlated with their increased tendency to convert a signal of punishment into a signal of reinforcement (higher persistence scores). DISCUSSION: The paradoxical advantage of patients with AN in detail-based body processing may be associated to their tendency to routinely explore body parts as a consequence of their obsessive worries about body appearance.
Visual body perception in anorexia nervosa / C. Urgesi, L. Fornasari, L. Perini, F. Canalaz, S. Cremaschi, L. Faleschini, M. Balestrieri, F. Fabbro, S.M. Aglioti, P. Brambilla. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS. - ISSN 0276-3478. - 45:4(2012 May), pp. 501-511.
Visual body perception in anorexia nervosa
P. Brambilla
2012
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Disturbance of body perception is a central aspect of anorexia nervosa (AN) and several neuroimaging studies have documented structural and functional alterations of occipito-temporal cortices involved in visual body processing. However, it is unclear whether these perceptual deficits involve more basic aspects of others' body perception. METHOD: A consecutive sample of 15 adolescent patients with AN were compared with a group of 15 age- and gender-matched controls in delayed matching to sample tasks requiring the visual discrimination of the form or of the action of others' body. RESULTS: Patients showed better visual discrimination performance than controls in detail-based processing of body forms but not of body actions, which positively correlated with their increased tendency to convert a signal of punishment into a signal of reinforcement (higher persistence scores). DISCUSSION: The paradoxical advantage of patients with AN in detail-based body processing may be associated to their tendency to routinely explore body parts as a consequence of their obsessive worries about body appearance.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Urgesi_et_al-2012-International_Journal_of_Eating_Disorders.pdf
accesso riservato
Tipologia:
Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione
927 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
927 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.