Impact of Fatty Stimuli on Cerebral Activity in Anorexia Nervosa: a Multi-sensory Approach

NCT07344831 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 24CH172ANSM
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 90
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Lipid restriction is significant in anorexia nervosa and limits therapeutic management. The multisensory perception of fat is altered, creating an aversion to lipids. The investigators aim to characterize the impact of sensory stimulation (smells or images) associated with specific tastes using neuropsychological assessments and functional MRI. Some volatile aromas can enhance the perception of the associated taste. The investigators hypothesize that such associations are altered in anorexia nervosa for fatty foods but may be preserved for sweet tastes, and that this alteration contributes to the maintenance of the disease. The interdependence of different sensory perceptions of lipids could play a major role in the therapeutic approach, aiding in the deconditioning of this aversion and the restoration of positive food sensory associations.

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Keywords

Anorexia nervosa,; MRI; Lipid aversion

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Brain activity measured by functional MRI

  Estimation of the "fatty vs. neutral" contrast when all three senses are used, comparing AN patients to the normal-weight control group (NC group) in each voxel of the brain volume (whole-brain analysis) and in the orbitofrontal cortex (ROI analysis).

  Day 1

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Brain activity measured by functional MRI

  Day 1

• Brain activity measured by functional MRI

  Day 1

• Brain activity measured by functional MRI

  Day 1

• BMI

  DAY 1.

• Olfactory and gustatory abilities

  Day 1

Study Arms (3)

Anorexia Nervosa patient group

EXPERIMENTAL

30 patients with anorexia nervosa

Other: MRI examination; Other: Smell and taste capacity testings

Normal Weight Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

30 control subjects of normal weight

Other: MRI examination; Other: Smell and taste capacity testings

Low Weight Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

30 control subjects with a similar weight to AN patients (the constitutional thinness group)

Other: MRI examination; Other: Smell and taste capacity testings

Interventions

MRI examination OTHER

One hour MRI examination

Anorexia Nervosa patient group; Low Weight Control group; Normal Weight Control group

Smell and taste capacity testings OTHER

one hour sensory testings

Anorexia Nervosa patient group; Low Weight Control group; Normal Weight Control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Person affiliated or entitled to a social security scheme
• Person having received informed information on the study and having co-signed, with the investigator, a consent to participate in the study
• female person
• Person affiliated or entitled to a social security scheme
• Over 18 years'old
• Knowing how to read and write French
• Patient diagnosed with anorexia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria for at least 5 years (HAS criteria). Failure of prior outpatient or/and hospitalization care over the last 12 months: stable or falling low BMI, unmodified food restriction, continued fear of weight gain, disturbances in the perception of body image
• BMI \< 18.5 kg/m² for volunteers in a state of constitutional thinness. The absence of eating disorder and the absence of restriction to DEBQ questionnaires. Fertility preserved.
• For volunteers of normal weight: 18.5 kg/m² \< BMI \< 25 kg/m²

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnant women, parturient, nursing mothers;
• Persons deprived of their liberty, hospitalized without consent, hospitalized for purposes other than research;
• Minors
• Refusal of the study by the participant
• Person incapable of giving informed consent
• Artificial nutrition
• Associated organic damage favoring undernutrition: other chronic diseases (digestive, infectious, endocrine, pulmonary, cardiac, neurological), neoplasms, etc.
• Abuse of psychoactive substances except tobacco
• Characterized depressive episode, psychosis
• Score less than 14 on the Edinburgh laterality questionnaire.
• Contraindications to MRI or allergy to one of the components of the olfactory and taste tests
• Smokers
• Smell or taste alterations

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne: lead

Study Sites (1)

CHU de Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne, 42055, France

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Interventions

Smell

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding and Eating Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Sensation; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Central Study Contacts

Fabien SCHNEIDER, MD

CONTACT

(0)477127529; fabien.schneider@univ-st-etienne.fr

Florence RANCON, CDP

CONTACT

(0)477829458; florenc.rancon@chu-st-etienne.fr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 22, 2025
• First Posted: January 15, 2026
• Study Start: January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2027
• Last Updated: January 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

FR (1)