Abstract
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by extremely low body weight resulting from pathological food restriction, and carries a mortality rate among the highest of any psychiatric illness. AN, particularly during the acute, underweight state of the illness, has been associated with abnormalities across a range of brain regions, including the frontal cortex and basal ganglia. Few studies of AN have investigated the thalamus, a key mediator of information flow through frontal-basal ganglia circuit loops. We examined both thalamic surface morphology using anatomical MRI and thalamo-frontal functional connectivity using resting-state functional MRI. Individuals with AN (n=28) showed localized inward deformations of the thalamus relative to healthy controls (HC, n=22), and abnormal functional connectivity between the thalamus and the dorsolateral and anterior prefrontal cortices. Alterations in thalamo-frontal connectivity were associated with deficits in performance on tasks probing cognitive control (Stroop task) and working memory (Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS) task). Our findings suggest that abnormalities in thalamo-frontal circuits may have a role in mediating aspects of cognitive dysfunction in underweight individuals with AN.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by NIMH grants R21-MH099388 (JS and JP), K23 MH76195 (JS), K23-MH091249 (JP), the Klarman Family Foundation (JS), and the Paul Janssen Fellowship in Translational Neuroscience Research (DB).
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Biezonski, D., Cha, J., Steinglass, J. et al. Evidence for Thalamocortical Circuit Abnormalities and Associated Cognitive Dysfunctions in Underweight Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa. Neuropsychopharmacol 41, 1560–1568 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.314
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.314
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