Neural correlates of theory of mind are preserved in young women with anorexia nervosa
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
People with anorexia nervosa (AN)commonly exhibit social difficulties, which may be related to problems with understanding the perspectives of others, commonly known as Theory of Mind (ToM) processing. However, there is a dearth of literature investigating the neural basis of these differences in ToM and at what age they emerge.This study aimed to test for differences in the neural correlates of ToM processes in young women with AN, and young women weight-restored from AN, as compared to healthy control participants(HC). Based on previous findings in AN, we hypothesised that young women with current or prior AN, as compared to HCs,would exhibit a reduced neural response in the medial prefrontal cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the temporo-parietal junction whilst completing a ToMtask.We recruited 73 young women with AN, 45 weight-restored young women, and 70 young women without a history of AN to take part in the current study. Whilst undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)scan, participants completed the Frith-Happé task, which is a commonly-used measure of ToM with demonstrated reliability and validity in adult populations. In this task, participantsviewed the movements of triangles, which depicted either action movements, simple interactions, or complex social interactions.Viewing trials with more complex social interactions in the Frith-Happé task was associated with increased brain activation in regions including the right temporo-parietal junction, the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. There were no group differences in neural activation in response to the ToM contrast. Overall, these results suggest that the neural basis of spontaneous mentalising is preserved in most young women with AN.
Date Issued
2020-09
Date Acceptance
2020-08-18
ISSN
1664-1078
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Start Page
1
End Page
8
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Psychology
Volume
11
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Leslie, Halls, Leppanen, Sedgewick, Smith, Hayward, Lang, Fonville, Simic, Mandy, Nicholls, Murphy, Williams and Tchanturia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URI
Identifier
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568073/full
Subjects
anorexia nervosa
autism spectrum disorder
functional magnetic resonance imaging
neuropsychology
theory of mind
1701 Psychology
1702 Cognitive Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
568073
Date Publish Online
2020-09-10