Anterior cingulate activity in bulimia nervosa: A fMRI case study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Eating disordered patients (EDp) who binge-eat appear to present impulse control deficits that influence treatment outcome. The present bulimia nervosa (BN) study tests the function of brain areas involved in top-down control of behavior, associated with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), at the individual level. METHODS: ACC activity was analyzed in two women with BN and one matched control with a reliable and simple cue imperative target paradigm for response anticipation and response conflict processing using an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design. RESULTS: Patients showed meaningful ACC patterns of activation, less recruitment for response anticipation, and abnormal for response conflict, when they had to suppress an inappropriate response. DISCUSSION: Preliminary evidence suggests a BN neurocognitive model of impaired executive control-related brain activity. Reliable fMRI paradigms may be clinically useful to determine ACC dysfunction in EDp, to inform treatment and track changes. ©2007, Editrice Kurtis.