Neural Correlates of Reward and Symptom Expression in Anorexia Nervosa

NCT03275545 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: PSYCH-2017-25878
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 79
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objective of this study is to identify the patterns of brain activity in reward circuitry that promote symptoms of anorexia nervosa. This project will compare weight-restored individuals with anorexia nervosa to a non-eating disorder control group on reward brain circuitry patterns in response to typically rewarding cues (i.e., entertaining videos) and disorder-specific restrictive eating cues (i.e., low-fat food choice) using fMRI. In addition, this study will examine which neurobiological reward responses among weight-restored individuals with anorexia nervosa predict objective restrictive eating (measured by laboratory meal intake) and longitudinal risk of relapse one year later.

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Brain activation in reward circuits

  Activation in regions of interest in reward brain circuitry (i.e., ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens) in response to typically-rewarding and disorder-specific tasks

  Baseline

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Restrictive eating

  Baseline

• Relapse

  12 months

Study Arms (2)

Anorexia Nervosa, Weight Restored

Individuals with a recent diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (within the past 6 months), who currently have their weight in a healthy range (BMI \> or = 18.5 kg/m2)

Other: No intervention

Non-eating disorder Control

Individuals without a history of an eating disorder and no current DSM-5 psychiatric diagnoses.

Other: No intervention

Interventions

No intervention OTHER

No intervention is being examined in this study

Anorexia Nervosa, Weight Restored; Non-eating disorder Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Many participants will be community individuals self-referred to participate through a flyer or other study advertisement. Individuals who are patients at The Emily Program eating disorder treatment facility who are in the process of weight-restoration or who have recently been weight-restored from anorexia nervosa may also be presented with a flyer by clinical staff at the program through the process outlined above. Participants will also be recruited from logs of individuals who had previously participated in studies in our lab and stated that they would like to be contacted for future studies and our active recruitment log.

You may qualify if:

• Age \> 18 years old
• Current BMI \> 18.5 kg/m2
• Ability to read and speak in English
• Right-handed
• Weight restored Anorexia Nervosa group: 1) DSM-5 diagnosis of AN in the past 6 months, with the exception of body image disturbance and intense fear of weight gain criteria; 2) BMI \< 18.5 kg/m2 within past 6 months

You may not qualify if:

• Medical instability or current pregnancy
• Current substance use disorder, psychosis, or bipolar-I disorder
• Contraindication for fMRI
• History of neurological disorder/injury (e.g., stroke; head injury with \> 10 minutes loss of consciousness)
• Food allergy that cannot be accommodated through substitutions to the laboratory test meal
• Lacking capacity to consent
• Non-eating disorder Control group: Current DSM-5 Axis-I diagnosis or current or past eating disorder diagnosis

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Minnesota: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55414, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding and Eating Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Ann Haynos, PhD

  University of Minnesota

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 5, 2017
• First Posted: September 7, 2017
• Study Start: February 28, 2018
• Primary Completion: July 12, 2022
• Study Completion: August 1, 2022
• Last Updated: September 21, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-09

Locations

US (1)