Entwicklung und Validierung eines Fragebogens zur multidimensionalen Erfassung essstörungsspezifischer interozeptiver Körperwahrnehmung: Vorläufige Daten anhand einer gesunden und einer essgestörten Stichprobe

in Schorr, A. (Ed.) Abstractband 13. Kongress der Fachgruppe Gesundheitspsychologie der DGPs (2017)

Interozeption bei Anorexia nervosa: Befunde auf subjektiver und elektrophysiologischer Ebene

Scientific Conference (2016, September)

Reduced early visual processing of own body images in anorexia nervosa: An event-related potentials study

Poster (2016)

Introduction. Although body image distortion in anorexia nervosa (AN) has been extensively studied over the past decades, its underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Neuro-imaging studies have ... [more ▼]

Introduction. Although body image distortion in anorexia nervosa (AN) has been extensively studied over the past decades, its underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Neuro-imaging studies have identified functional and structural alterations in brain areas involved in visual body perception, but the time course of visual body processing in AN remains mostly unexplored. The current study used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate single processing steps along the time course, particularly the visual processing of physical body image characteristics (featural processing, P1) and the recognition of a body as such (configural processing, N1). Methods. Twenty in-patients with AN, and 20 healthy women viewed photographs of themselves, of another woman’s body and of their own and another woman’s standardized object (cup) with concurrent EEG recording. Results. Body images elicited an accentuation of the P1 component (105-160 ms), which was absent for the comparison between own-body and own-cup images in the AN group. Results regarding the N1 component suggest alterations in object processing in AN. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that individuals with AN show reduced featural processing of their own body image, a process which, due to its position early in the visual processing stream, is unlikely to involve higher cognitive stimulus processing. This suggests a possible role of previously undetected pre-conscious mechanisms in body image disturbance. [less ▲]

Interoception in anorexia nervosa: evidence at cortical and self-report levels

in Appetite (2016), 107

Body or cup? Alterations in featural and configural body image processing in anorexia nervosa

in Psychophysiology (2015), 52(supplement 1), 123

Body perception and evaluation in anorexia nervosa

Doctoral thesis (2015)

Body image disturbance is a prominent feature in anorexia nervosa (AN) and encompasses alterations across the different dimensions of body image, that is, perception, affect, cognition, and behaviour ... [more ▼]

Body image disturbance is a prominent feature in anorexia nervosa (AN) and encompasses alterations across the different dimensions of body image, that is, perception, affect, cognition, and behaviour. There is a wealth of research regarding the subjective experience of body image disturbance and evidence for underlying neuronal alterations is beginning to emerge. The present project was designed to assess basic processes underlying body image disturbance with the help of psychophysiological measurement techniques and self-other discrimination tasks. In study 1, using a self-other discrimination task with distorted body images, we were able to demonstrate interactions between perceptual factors and cognitive bias which may sustain a distorted and negative body image in healthy women. Study 2 showed a discrepancy between explicit negative ratings for body shapes and implicit neutral affect towards the same images, as assessed with an affective startle-modulation paradigm, in healthy women and women with AN. These results suggest that automatic fear responses to fat-distorted self-body pictures, as well as implicit approach motivation towards thin body images, as reported in previous studies, are not present in all patients with AN. In study 3 a differential alteration of featural and configural visual processing of body images was detected in an event-related brain potentials (EEG-ERP) paradigm. Individuals with AN showed a lack of discrimination between self-body and self-object pictures between 105 and 160 ms after stimulus onset (P1 component, featural processing) and an enhanced processing of body relative to neutral object pictures between 160 and 225 ms after stimulus onset (N1 component, configural processing). This suggests alterations in the basic visual processing of body shapes in AN, which might be related to influences of top-down attentional modulation. Study 4 showed enhanced processing of cardiac visceral signals in the central nervous system (CNS) in individuals with AN, which might either be a marker of psychopathology, in particular anxiety, or an indication of clinical improvement. In summary, the present results do not support the view of a global perceptual deficit in AN, but demonstrate the complexity of body image alterations in AN. It appears mandatory to further investigate basic processes underlying body image disturbances in AN and in healthy women to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of their nature and to provide a theoretical basis for body image interventions. The importance of using specific assessment methods, such as indicators of body-related processing in the CNS, is highlighted. [less ▲]

Affektive Bewertung von Körperbildern bei Anorexia nervosa

in Wittchen, H.-U.; Härtling, S.; Hoyer, J. (Eds.) Abstractband - Wieviel Psychologie steckt in der Psychotherapie? (2015)

Gastrische Modulation der Schreckreaktion: eine prä-attentive Methode zur Abbildung afferenter Signale aus dem gastrointestinalen System

in Kaiser, J.; Fiebach, C. (Eds.) 41. Tagung Psychologie und Gehirn - Abstracts der Beiträge (2015)

Food-cue affected motor response inhibition and self-reported dieting success: a pictorial affective shifting task

in Frontiers in Psychology (2014), 5(216),

Behavioral inhibition is one of the basic facets of executive functioning and is closely related to self-regulation. Impulsive reactions, i.e. low inhibitory control, have been associated with higher body ... [more ▼]

Behavioral inhibition is one of the basic facets of executive functioning and is closely related to self-regulation. Impulsive reactions, i.e. low inhibitory control, have been associated with higher body-mass-index (BMI), binge eating, and other problem behaviors (e.g. substance abuse, pathological gambling, etc.). Nevertheless, studies which investigated the direct influence of food-cues on behavioral inhibition have been fairly inconsistent. In the current studies, we investigated food-cue affected behavioral inhibition in young women. For this purpose, we used a go/no-go task with pictorial food and neutral stimuli in which stimulus-response mapping is reversed after every other block (affective shifting task). In study 1, hungry participants showed faster reaction times to and omitted fewer food than neutral targets. Low dieting success and higher BMI were associated with behavioral disinhibition in food relative to neutral blocks. In study 2, both hungry and satiated individuals were investigated. Satiation did not influence overall task performance, but modulated associations of task performance with dieting success and self-reported impulsivity. When satiated, increased food craving during the task was associated with low dieting success, possibly indicating a preload-disinhibition effect following food intake. Food-cues elicited automatic action and approach tendencies regardless of dieting success, self-reported impulsivity, or current hunger levels. Yet, associations between dieting success, impulsivity, and behavioral food-cue responses were modulated by hunger and satiation. Future research investigating clinical samples and including other salient non-food stimuli as control category is warranted. [less ▲]

Resisting high calorie foods: Heart rate variability as an indicator of self-regulatory processes in restrained eating behaviour

in André, C; Bohn, T; Evers, D (Eds.) et al Nutrition, chronic health complications, and healthy ageing (2013, October 25)

INTRODUCTION. In our affluent western society many people, especially young women, try to restrict their food intake in order to conform to the society’s thin ideal in spite of the omnipresence of high ... [more ▼]

INTRODUCTION. In our affluent western society many people, especially young women, try to restrict their food intake in order to conform to the society’s thin ideal in spite of the omnipresence of high-calorie foods. However, this dieting behaviour is often linked to eating binges, leads to weight gain in the long run, and is the best established risk factor for eating disorders. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful control of eating behaviour. Restrained eaters are people who habitually try to resist high calorie foods in order to restrict their food intake and have been shown to be prone to a breakdown of self-regulation. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a psychophysiological measure calculated from heart rate. It serves as an indicator of self-regulatory capacity and effort because of neural linkages between heart and brain. Resisting high calorie foods is associated with an increase of state-HRV and temporarily depletes self-regulatory resources, a mechanism which could explain breakdowns in self-regulation of food intake. Therefore, the current study investigated the changes in HRV during confrontation with high vs. low calorie foods in restrained and unrestrained eaters. METHOD. After a three hour-fast, 60 female university students were exposed to either high (brownie) or low calorie food (carrot). They were asked to look at the food and smell it, but to refrain from eating it. Heart rate was continuously recorded during exposure, as well as during rest before and after exposure. Restrained eating was assessed with the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. RESULTS. HRV increased during exposure. This increase was characterised by an interaction of exposure condition and restrained eating. In the high-calorie condition, HRV increase was related to restrained eating. The higher the restrained eating scores, the stronger was the increase in HRV. In the low-calorie condition there was no significant association between HRV and restrained eating. DISCUSSION. The results suggest increased self-regulatory effort in highly restrained eaters when exposed to high calorie foods. In addition, restrained eaters seem to have spared their self-regulatory resources when exposed to diet-congruent low calorie food. These findings provide first insights into dietary strategies at a basic self-regulation level, using psychophysiological methods. In the long run, a detailed understanding of basic self-regulatory mechanisms in dietary restriction will help to develop strategies for healthy eating behaviour in normal-weight and over-weight populations. [less ▲]