RECRUITINGOBSERVATIONAL

Exploring the Full Body Representation in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

About This Trial

The ability to mentally recall a motor act without any overt movement is called motor imagery (MI). The movement simulation that occurs on a cognitive level can be seen as a way in which we express the mental representation of the body in action. MI tasks can be used as a proxy for the exploration of the mental representations of the body. Interestingly, MI tasks differ in the degree of action monitoring required to resolve the task. More in detail, we can allocate MI tasks along a continuum that goes from more implicit MI tasks (less action monitoring required for the resolution of the task) to more explicit MI tasks (more action monitoring required for the resolution of the task). Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are both characterized by body image distortion and impairments (i.e. overestimation of the perceived body), however, on a different state of the physical body: on one hand we have a highly malnourished body, on the other hand, we might have a healthy-looking body or an overweight body. As above mentioned, MI tasks can be used as a proxy for the exploration of the mental representations of the body and people affected by AN and BN show impairment on their imagined body. This means that people affected by AN and BN might respond differently when assessed for their MI abilities. We hypothesize that people affected by AN might show greater impairment in their motor imagery abilities because of the greater discrepancy between the physical body (malnourished) and the mental body representation in comparison to people affected by BN, who usually have a health weight, even an altered body representation. Nevertheless, we might expect the alteration of body representation not strictly linked to the physical body dimensions, in the case of no difference between AN and BN. This would be of relevance for the creation of rehabilitative programs.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

People affected by AN Who May Qualify: - Female; - age between 18 and 55 years old; - diagnosis of AN (restrictive and binge-purging type\*), as per DSM V criteria (APA, 2013); - BMI ≤ 17,5 Kg/m2; - right-handed (i.e. Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) (Veale, 2014)). - Restricting type: During the last 3 months, the individual has not engaged in recurrent episodes of binge eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). This subtype describes presentations in which weight loss is accomplished primarily through dieting, fasting, and/or excessive exercise. - Binge-eating/purging type: During the last 3 months, the individual has engaged in recurrent episodes of binge eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). Who Should NOT Join This Trial: - presence of motor impairments, such as: motor disorders, broken limbs, inability to move, amputation of limbs, etc… because of the nature of the tasks - see the section Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body; - presence of neurological deficits, motor disorders, or somatosensory perception disorders (e.g. peripheral neuropathy); previous head injury; - schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other psychotic disorders on an acute phase; - pregnancy; - heavy use of medication because of acute symptoms. People affected by BN Who May Qualify: - female; - age between 18 and 55 years old; - diagnosis of BN, as per DSM V criteria (APA, 2013); - BMI ≤ 17,5 Kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 30 Kg/m2; - right-handed (i.e. EHI (Veale, 2014)). Who Should NOT Join This Trial: - presence of motor impairments, such as: motor disorders, broken limbs, inability to move, amputation of limbs, etc… because of the nature of the tasks - see the section Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body; ...See full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language

People affected by AN Inclusion Criteria: * Female; * age between 18 and 55 years old; * diagnosis of AN (restrictive and binge-purging type\*), as per DSM V criteria (APA, 2013); * BMI ≤ 17,5 Kg/m2; * right-handed (i.e. Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) (Veale, 2014)). * Restricting type: During the last 3 months, the individual has not engaged in recurrent episodes of binge eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). This subtype describes presentations in which weight loss is accomplished primarily through dieting, fasting, and/or excessive exercise. * Binge-eating/purging type: During the last 3 months, the individual has engaged in recurrent episodes of binge eating or purging behaviour (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). Exclusion criteria: * presence of motor impairments, such as: motor disorders, broken limbs, inability to move, amputation of limbs, etc… because of the nature of the tasks - see the section Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body; * presence of neurological deficits, motor disorders, or somatosensory perception disorders (e.g. peripheral neuropathy); previous head injury; * schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other psychotic disorders on an acute phase; * pregnancy; * heavy use of medication because of acute symptoms. People affected by BN Inclusion Criteria: * female; * age between 18 and 55 years old; * diagnosis of BN, as per DSM V criteria (APA, 2013); * BMI ≤ 17,5 Kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 30 Kg/m2; * right-handed (i.e. EHI (Veale, 2014)). Exclusion criteria: * presence of motor impairments, such as: motor disorders, broken limbs, inability to move, amputation of limbs, etc… because of the nature of the tasks - see the section Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body; * presence of neurological deficits, motor disorders, or somatosensory perception disorders (e.g. peripheral neuropathy); previous head injury; * schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other psychotic disorders on an acute phase; * pregnancy; * heavy use of medication because of acute symptoms. HCs - enrolled voluntarily Inclusion Criteria: * female; * age between 18 and 55 years old; * right-handed (i.e. EHI (Veale, 2014)). Exclusion criteria: * history of eating disorders or obesity in the past 5 years and currently; * BMI ≤ 17,5 Kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 30 Kg/m2; * presence of motor impairments, such as: motor disorders, broken limbs, inability to move, amputation of limbs, etc… because of the nature of the tasks - see the section Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body; * presence of neurological deficits, motor disorders, or somatosensory perception disorders (e.g. peripheral neuropathy); previous head injury; * schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other psychotic disorders on an acute phase; * pregnancy; * heavy use of medication because of acute symptoms. Comparability between the four groups (AN restrictive vs AN binge-purging vs BN vs HCs) in terms of age and education will be guaranteed.

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC) Task Hands and Feet and Whole Body

The MMC will be used as a measure of MI and it is adapted for use in hands, feet, and the whole body as well as for online experimentation. The task is comprised of two conditions, MI, and motor execution, in which respectively participants will be asked to imagine and execute a movement sequence with both hands and feet and the whole body. Hand movements: index and thumb opposition; thumb extension from the fist; middle finger crossed on the index finger; and extension of the index and the little fingers. Foot movements: foot internal rotation, foot external rotation, foot dorsiflexion, and foot plantarflexion. Whole-body movements: take a small bow, lift arms over the head and stand on the tips of the toes (stretch), extend hands forward and lower the backside (squats) and a small jump. The types of movements required to be executed by participants are simple and do not require much energy. Therefore, people affected by AN and BN should be able to perform them without problems.

Locations (1)

istituto Auxologico italiano IRCSS

Milan, MI, Italy