Voxel-based morphometry in eating disorders: Correlation of psychopathology with grey matter volume

Joos, Andreas; Klöppel, Stefan; Hartmann, Armin; Glauche, Volkmar; Tüscher, Oliver; Perlov, Evgeniy; Saum, Barbara; Freyer, Tobias; Zeeck, Almut; van Elst, Ludger Tebartz

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.02.004

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 182, Issue 2 , Pages 146-151, 30 May 2010

Voxel-based morphometry in eating disorders: Correlation of psychopathology with grey matter volume

Andreas Joos
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Freiburg, Germany
- Corresponding author. University of Freiburg, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hauptstraße 8, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Stefan Klöppel
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section of Gerontopsychiatry and Neuropsychology, Freiburg, Germany
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Freiburg, Germany
Armin Hartmann
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Freiburg, Germany
Volkmar Glauche
- University of Freiburg, Department of Neurology, Freiburg, Germany
Oliver Tüscher
- University of Freiburg, Department of Neurology, Freiburg, Germany
Evgeniy Perlov
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Freiburg, Germany
Barbara Saum
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Freiburg, Germany
Tobias Freyer
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Freiburg, Germany
Almut Zeeck
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Freiburg, Germany
- Professor Zeeck and Professor Tebartz van Elst equally contributed to this work as senior authors.
Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- University of Freiburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Freiburg, Germany
- Professor Zeeck and Professor Tebartz van Elst equally contributed to this work as senior authors.

Received 28 August 2009; received in revised form 3 February 2010; accepted 5 February 2010.

Abstract

Twenty-nine adult female patients with eating disorders (17 with bulimia nervosa, 12 with restrictive anorexia nervosa) were compared with 18 age-matched female healthy controls, using voxel-based morphometry. Restrictive anorexia nervosa patients showed a decrease of grey matter, particularly affecting the anterior cingulate cortex, frontal operculum, temporoparietal regions and the precuneus. By contrast, patients with bulimia nervosa did not differ from healthy controls. A positive correlation of “drive for thinness” and grey matter volume of the right inferior parietal lobe was found for both eating disorder groups. The strong reduction of grey matter volume in adult patients with restrictive anorexia nervosa is in line with results of adolescent patients. Contrary to other studies, this first voxel-based morphometry report of bulimic patients did not find any structural abnormalities. The inferior parietal cortex is a critical region for sensory integration of body and spatial perception, and the correlation of “drive for thinness” with grey matter volume of this region points to a neural correlate of this core psychopathological feature of eating disorders.

Keywords: Eating disorders, Bulimia nervosa, Anorexia nervosa, Voxel-based morphometry, Drive for thinness, Supramarginal gyrus