Cognition in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Abstract

Many studies have found some deficits in cognitive functionCognitive functionin anorexia nervosa. While deficits in memory appear to be associated with anorexia nervosa, a more consistent finding is that anorexia nervosa appears to be associated with impairments in a variety of measures of executive function, and it is not clear how the cognitive impairmentsCognitive impairmentthat are associated with anorexia might change with treatment and weight restoration. Overall, additional research is required to understand fully the associations between cognitive function and anorexia nervosa. The cognitive functionCognitive functionof people with bulimia nervosa is even less clear. Many of the available studies show few if any differences between bulimia nervosa and healthy controls across a range of cognitive domains. Bulimia nervosa in the context of a history of anorexia nervosa might be associated with worse executive function than people with bulimia nervosa without a history of anorexia nervosa. Additional research is necessary to understand the relationships between bulimia nervosa and cognition.