Fear conditioning in women with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls: A preliminary study.

2021 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-497
Author(s):  
Ellen Lambert ◽  
Janet Treasure ◽  
Kirstin L. Purves ◽  
Thomas McGregor ◽  
Nicol Bergou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Preliminary Study

scholarly journals Oxidative status in plasma, urine and saliva of girls with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Gaál Kovalčíková ◽  
Ľubica Tichá ◽  
Katarína Šebeková ◽  
Peter Celec ◽  
Alžbeta Čagalová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Redox Homeostasis ◽  
Oxidative Status ◽  
Carbonyl Stress ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Psychosomatic Disorder ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Markers Of Oxidative Stress

Abstract Background Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious psychosomatic disorder with unclear pathomechanisms. Metabolic dysregulation is associated with disruption of redox homeostasis that might play a pivotal role in the development of AN. The aim of our study was to assess oxidative status and carbonyl stress in plasma, urine and saliva of patients with AN and healthy controls. Methods Plasma, spot urine, and saliva were collected from 111 girls with AN (aged from 10 to 18 years) and from 29 age-matched controls. Markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant status were measured using spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods. Results Plasma advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were significantly higher in patients with AN than in healthy controls (by 96, and 82%, respectively). Accordingly, urinary concentrations of AOPP and fructosamines and salivary concentrations of AGEs were higher in girls with AN compared with controls (by 250, and 41% in urine; by 92% in saliva, respectively). Concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in saliva were 3-times higher in the patients with AN than in the controls. Overall antioxidants were lower in plasma of girls with AN compared to the controls, as shown by total antioxidant capacity and ratio of reduced and oxidized glutathione (by 43, and 31%, respectively). Conclusions This is the first study assessing wide range of markers of oxidative status in plasma, urine and saliva of the patients with AN. We showed that both, higher levels of markers of oxidative stress and lower antioxidants play a role in redox disruption. Restoration of redox homeostasis might be of the clinical relevance

scholarly journals Overcoming limitations of self-report: an assessment of fear of weight gain in anorexia nervosa and healthy controls using implicit association tests

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiana Borgers ◽  
Nathalie Krüger ◽  
Silja Vocks ◽  
Jennifer J. Thomas ◽  
Franziska Plessow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Drive For Thinness ◽  
Implicit Association ◽  
Association Tests ◽  
Implicit Assessment ◽  
Fear Of Weight Gain

Abstract Background Fear of weight gain is a characteristic feature of anorexia nervosa (AN), and reducing this fear is often a main target of treatment. However, research shows that 20% of individuals with AN do not report fear of weight gain. Studies are needed that evaluate the centrality of fear of weight gain for AN with a method less susceptible to deception than self-report. Methods We approximated implicit fear of weight gain by measuring implicit drive for thinness using implicit association tests (IATs). We asked 64 participants (35 AN, 29 healthy controls [HCs]) to categorize statements as pro-dieting vs. non-dieting and true vs. false in a questionnaire-based IAT, and pictures of underweight vs. normal-weight models and positive vs. negative words in a picture-based IAT using two response keys. We tested for associations between implicit drive for thinness and explicitly reported psychopathology within AN as well as group differences between AN and HC groups. Results Correlation analyses within the AN group showed that higher implicit drive for thinness was associated with more pronounced eating disorder-specific psychopathology. Furthermore, the AN group showed a stronger implicit drive for thinness than HCs in both IATs. Conclusion The results highlight the relevance of considering fear of weight gain as a continuous construct. Our implicit assessment captures various degrees of fear of weight gain in AN, which might allow for more individually tailored interventions in the future.

scholarly journals Comparison of Brain Activation Patterns during Olfactory Stimuli between Recovered COVID-19 Patients and Healthy Controls: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 968
Author(s):  
Roger C. Ho ◽  
Vijay K. Sharma ◽  
Benjamin Y. Q. Tan ◽  
Alison Y. Y. Ng ◽  
Yit-Shiang Lui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli ◽  
Preliminary Study

Impaired sense of smell occurs in a fraction of patients with COVID-19 infection, but its effect on cerebral activity is unknown. Thus, this case report investigated the effect of COVID-19 infection on frontotemporal cortex activity during olfactory stimuli. In this preliminary study, patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection (n = 6) and healthy controls who never contracted COVID-19 (n = 6) were recruited. Relative changes in frontotemporal cortex oxy-hemoglobin during olfactory stimuli was acquired using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The area under curve (AUC) of oxy-hemoglobin for the time interval 5 s before and 15 s after olfactory stimuli was derived. In addition, olfactory function was assessed using the Sniffin’ Sticks 12-identification test (SIT-12). Patients had lower SIT-12 scores than healthy controls (p = 0.026), but there were no differences in oxy-hemoglobin AUC between healthy controls and patients (p > 0.05). This suggests that past COVID-19 infection may not affect frontotemporal cortex function, and these preliminary results need to be verified in larger samples.

scholarly journals Antimicrobial peptides in patients with anorexia nervosa: comparison with healthy controls and the impact of weight gain

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Christin Bendix ◽  
Michael Stephan ◽  
Mariel Nöhre ◽  
Wally Wünsch-Leiteritz ◽  
Hagen Schmidt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Clinical Observations ◽  
The Impact

AbstractClinical observations show that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) are surprisingly free from infectious diseases. There is evidence from studies in Drosophila melanogaster that starvation leads to an increased expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs are part of the innate immune system and protect human surfaces from colonization with pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi. We compared the expression of AMPs between patients with AN and healthy controls (HC) and investigated the influence of weight gain. Using a standardized skin rinsing method, quantitative determination of the AMPs psoriasin and RNase 7 was carried out by ELISA. Even though non-significant, effect sizes revealed slightly higher AMP concentrations in HC. After a mean weight gain of 2.0 body mass index points, the concentration of psoriasin on the forehead of patients with AN increased significantly. We could not confirm our hypotheses of higher AMP concentrations in patients with AN that decrease after weight gain. On the contrary, weight gain seems to be associated with increasing AMP concentrations.

scholarly journals Lingual–Alveolar Contact Pressure During Speech in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Preliminary Findings

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 810-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Searl ◽  
Stephanie Knollhoff ◽  
Richard J. Barohn
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Contact Pressure ◽  
Statistical Difference ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Contact Pressures ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Purpose This preliminary study on lingual–alveolar contact pressures (LACP) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) had several aims: (a) to evaluate whether the protocol induced fatigue, (b) to compare LACP during speech (LACP-Sp) and during maximum isometric pressing (LACP-Max) in people with ALS (PALS) versus healthy controls, (c) to compare the percentage of LACP-Max utilized during speech (%Max) for PALS versus controls, and (d) to evaluate relationships between LACP-Sp and LACP-Max with word intelligibility. Method Thirteen PALS and 12 healthy volunteers produced /t, d, s, z, l, n/ sounds while LACP-Sp was recorded. LACP-Max was obtained before and after the speech protocol. Word intelligibility was obtained from auditory–perceptual judgments. Results LACP-Max values measured before and after completion of the speech protocol did not differ. LACP-Sp and LACP-Max were statistically lower in the ALS bulbar group compared with controls and PALS with only spinal symptoms. There was no statistical difference between groups for %Max. LACP-Sp and LACP-Max were correlated with word intelligibility. Conclusions It was feasible to obtain LACP-Sp measures without inducing fatigue. Reductions in LACP-Sp and LACP-Max for bulbar speakers might reflect tongue weakness. Although confirmation of results is needed, the data indicate that individuals with high word intelligibility maintained LACP-Sp at or above 2 kPa and LACP-Max at or above 50 kPa.

Identifying neuroanatomical signatures of anorexia nervosa: a multivariate machine learning approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (13) ◽  
pp. 2805-2812 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lavagnino ◽  
F. Amianto ◽  
B. Mwangi ◽  
F. D'Agata ◽  
A. Spalatro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Third Ventricle ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Drive For Thinness ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
Scan Data ◽  
Selection Operator

BackgroundThere are currently no neuroanatomical biomarkers of anorexia nervosa (AN) available to make clinical inferences at an individual subject level. We present results of a multivariate machine learning (ML) approach utilizing structural neuroanatomical scan data to differentiate AN patients from matched healthy controls at an individual subject level.MethodStructural neuroimaging scans were acquired from 15 female patients with AN (age = 20, s.d. = 4 years) and 15 demographically matched female controls (age = 22, s.d. = 3 years). Neuroanatomical volumes were extracted using the FreeSurfer software and input into the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) multivariate ML algorithm. LASSO was ‘trained’ to identify ‘novel’ individual subjects as either AN patients or healthy controls. Furthermore, the model estimated the probability that an individual subject belonged to the AN group based on an individual scan.ResultsThe model correctly predicted 25 out of 30 subjects, translating into 83.3% accuracy (sensitivity 86.7%, specificity 80.0%) (p < 0.001; χ2 test). Six neuroanatomical regions (cerebellum white matter, choroid plexus, putamen, accumbens, the diencephalon and the third ventricle) were found to be relevant in distinguishing individual AN patients from healthy controls. The predicted probabilities showed a linear relationship with drive for thinness clinical scores (r = 0.52, p < 0.005) and with body mass index (BMI) (r = −0.45, p = 0.01).ConclusionsThe model achieved a good predictive accuracy and drive for thinness showed a strong neuroanatomical signature. These results indicate that neuroimaging scans coupled with ML techniques have the potential to provide information at an individual subject level that might be relevant to clinical outcomes.

Are There Sex Differences in Fear Conditioning and Extinction Before Puberty? A Preliminary Study in Pre-Adolescent Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. S109-S110
Author(s):  
Hilary Marusak ◽  
Craig Peters ◽  
Allesandra Iadipaolo ◽  
Christine Rabinak
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Preliminary Study

scholarly journals Physical Feature Encoding and Word Recognition Abilities Are Altered in Children with Intractable Epilepsy: Preliminary Neuromagnetic Evidence

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Pardos ◽  
Milena Korostenskaja ◽  
Jing Xiang ◽  
Hisako Fujiwara ◽  
Ki H. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Intractable Epilepsy ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Sensory Inputs ◽  
Feature Encoding ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Age And Sex

Objective evaluation of language function is critical for children with intractable epilepsy under consideration for epilepsy surgery. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy by using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Ten children with intractable epilepsy (M/F 6/4, mean ± SD 13.4 ± 2.2 years) were matched on age and sex to healthy controls. Common nouns were presented simultaneously from visual and auditory sensory inputs in “match” and “mismatch” conditions. Neuromagnetic responses M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 with latencies of ~100 ms, ~150 ms, ~250 ms, ~350 ms, and ~450 ms, respectively, elicited during the “match” condition were identified. Compared to healthy children, epilepsy patients had both significantly delayed latency of the M1 and reduced amplitudes of M3 and M5 responses. These results provide neurophysiologic evidence of altered word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy.

scholarly journals The anticipation and perception of affective touch in women with and recovered from Anorexia Nervosa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Crucianelli ◽  
Benedetta Demartini ◽  
Diana Goeta ◽  
Veronica Nisticò ◽  
Alkistis Saramandi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Ct Afferents ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Successful Recovery ◽  
Secondary Result ◽  
Ct System ◽  
Tactile System

AbstractDisruptions in reward processing and anhedonia have long being considered as possible contributors to the aetiology and maintenance of Anorexia nervosa (AN). Recently, interoceptive deficits have also been observed in AN, including reduced tactile pleasure. However, the extent to which this tactile anhedonia is specifically liked to an impairment in a specialized, interoceptive C tactile system originating at the periphery, or a more top-down mechanism in the processing of pleasant tactile stimuli remains debated. Here, we investigated two related hypotheses. First, we examined whether the differences, between patients with AN and healthy controls in the perception of pleasantness of touch stimuli delivered in a CT-optimal manner versus a CT non-optimal manner would also be observed in patients recovered from AN. This is important as tactile anhedonia in acute patients may be the secondary result of prolonged malnutrition, rather than a deficit that contributed to the development of the disorder. Second, we examined whether these three groups would also differ in their top-down, anticipatory beliefs about the perceived pleasantness of different materials touching the skin, and to what degree such top-down beliefs and related impairments in alexithymia and interoceptive sensibility would explain any differences in perceived tactile plesantness. To this end, we measured the anticipated pleasantness of various materials touching the skin and the perceived pleasantness of light, dynamic stroking touches applied to the forearm of 27 women with AN, 24 women who have recovered and 30 healthy controls using C Tactile (CT) afferents-optimal (slow) and non-optimal (fast) velocities. Our results showed that both clinical groups anticipated tactile experiences and rated delivered tactile stimuli as less pleasant than healthy controls, but the latter difference was not related to the CT optimality of the stimulation. Instead, differences in how CT optimal touch were perceived were predicted by differences in top-down beliefs, alexithymia and interoceptive sensibility. Thus, this study concludes that tactile anhedonia in AN is not the secondary result of malnutrition but persists as a trait even after otherwise successful recovery of AN and also it not linked to a bottom-up interoceptive deficit in the CT system, but rather to a learned, defective top-down anticipation of pleasant tactile experiences.

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