Structural brain changes in severe and enduring anorexia nervosa: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study of gray matter volume, cortical thickness, and white matter integrity. (30th December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mishima, Ryo; Isobe, Masanori; Noda, Tomomi; Tose, Keima; Kawabata, Michiko; Noma, Shun'ichi; Murai, Toshiya
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 318(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-12-30
• Subjects: Anorexia nervosa -- Brain -- Cortical thickness -- Gray matter -- White matter; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Brain -- Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Diagnostic Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; Cerveau -- Imagerie pour le diagnostic -- Périodiques; 616.890754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111393
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-4927

Abstract

Highlights: Widespread brain structural decreases in AN were consistent with previous studies. After controlling for global brain changes, most decreases in AN disappeared. Higher CT in the medial orbital gyrus and parietal operculum in AN was detected. Structural brain changes in AN may reflect global, rather than regional, changes. Abstract: Whole-brain T1-weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 35 adult women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 35 healthy controls. We conducted voxel-based group comparisons for gray matter volume (GMV), cortical thickness (CT), and fractional anisotropy (FA) values, using age and total intracranial volume as nuisance covariates. We then conducted the same group comparisons for these three measures, but this time also controlled for the following global pathological measures: total GMV, mean CT across the whole brain, and mean FA across the entire white matter skeleton. Compared with the healthy controls, AN patients had lower GMV and CT in widespread cortical regions, and smaller FA values in widespread white matter regions. After controlling for global parameters, almost all of the differences between the two groups disappeared, except for higher CT in the medial orbital gyrus and parietal operculum in the AN group. Structural brain changes in AN are likely to be composed of both global and region-specific changes. The former changes are likely to have a dominant impact, while the latter changes might in part explain the disease-specific pathophysiology of AN.