EEG neurofeedback effects in the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa.

A pre-post design including 22 females was used to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback in the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. Resting EEG measures and a psychological test-battery assessing eating behavior traits, clinical symptoms, emotionality, and mood were obtained. While both the experimental (n = 10) and control group (n = 12) received their usual maintenance treatment, the experimental group received 10 sessions of individual alpha frequency training over a period of 5 weeks as additional treatment. Significant training effects were shown in eating behavior traits, emotion regulation, and in relative theta power in the eyes closed condition. Although the results are limited due to the small sample size, these are the first empirical data demonstrating the benefits of neurofeedback as a treatment adjunct in individuals with anorexia nervosa.

Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Topography in Long-Term Enterally Fed Children and Healthy Controls.

In the context of enteral feeding in children the influence on growth and the question of fat resorption is of great interest. We, therefore, measured the thickness of subcutaneous body fat in a sample of long-term enterally fed toddlers and healthy controls. In 33 long-term enterally fed toddlers (10 girls, 23 boys) and 275 healthy controls (128 girls, 147 boys) subcutaneous body fat was measured by means) of the optical device Lipometer. All participants were divided into three age groups (infants, toddlers and children). The height (p=0. 014, -11.7 cm, -12.5%) and weight (p=0.012, -3.0 kg, -21.9%) of long-term enterally fed female toddlers were significantly lower than healthy controls, while male enterally fed toddlers had lower values in all anthropometric measures compared to healthy controls: height (p=0.003, -8.0 cm, -8.4%), weight (p<0.001, -3.5 kg, -24.8%), BMI (p=0.004, -1.3 BMI), Z-score BMI (p=0.001, -1.2 Z-score BMI), upper arm circumference (p<0.001, -1.6 cm, -10.1%) and waist circumference (p<0.001, -6.2 cm, -12.5%). Tube fed toddlers showed a similar body fat distribution when compared to healthy controls, but demonstrated significantly lower values of anthropometric measurements. The results indicate that long-term enterally fed children have ample fat stores but lack physical development.

Motivational processing of food cues in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study.

Current literature suggests an increased attentional bias toward food stimuli in eating-disordered individuals compared to healthy controls. In line with these research efforts, the present study aims to investigate the processing of food stimuli (enriched by emotional stimuli) between patients diagnosed for anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls by means of electroencephalography. Twenty-two female adolescents (eleven AN patients vs. eleven healthy controls) were investigated. Positive event-related potentials "P300" and "late positive potential" (LPP) reflecting attentional processing (caused by motivationally relevant stimuli) were investigated during passive viewing of the food cue picture stream. This method was used for the first time in a sample of individuals with AN. As a main result, AN patients exhibited a higher amount of attentional bias in P300 and LPP, while watching food stimuli. Moreover, AN patients rated food stimuli as less pleasant. For a conclusion, there is substantial evidence pointing to an abnormal attentional brain reactivity to food pictures in AN. Therefore, food stimuli seem to be more motivationally relevant for AN patients than for healthy controls. By broadening existing knowledge, these findings might bear some implications for the treatment for AN. However, further research is recommended in order to confirm the results coming from rather limited data.