Behavioral Responses to Uncertainty in Weight-Restored Anorexia Nervosa – Preliminary Results

Piccolo, Mayron; Milos, Gabriella Franca; Bluemel, Sena; Schumacher, Sonja; Mueller-Pfeiffer, Christoph; Fried, Michael; Ernst, Monique; Martin Sölch, Chantal

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02492

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Journal article

Behavioral Responses to Uncertainty in Weight-Restored Anorexia Nervosa – Preliminary Results

Piccolo, Mayron University of Fribourg
Milos, Gabriella Franca University Hospital Zurich
Bluemel, Sena University Hospital Zurich
Schumacher, Sonja University Hospital Zurich
Mueller-Pfeiffer, Christoph University Hospital Zurich
Fried, Michael University Hospital Zurich
Ernst, Monique US National Institutes of Health
Martin Sölch, Chantal University of Fribourg

05.11.2019

Published in:

Frontiers in Psychology. - 2019, p. 1-5

English Impaired decision-making under conditions of uncertainty seems to contribute to theexpression and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN), but it is not clear whether thisimpairment is a disease state that would remit with treatment, or a persisting trait inpatients with AN. To examine this question, a longitudinal study was conducted in12 female inpatients with AN (age M = 22.2, SE = 1.36), before (Time-1) and afterreaching a body mass index of >17.5 kg/m2 (Time-2). Intolerance of uncertainty (IU)was assessed via a decision-making task, the wheel of fortune (WOF). Weight gain atTime-2 was accompanied with significant changes in uncertainty-related performancecompared to Time-1 [(Time Uncertainty), p < 0.05]. At Time-1, reaction times (RTs)varied in function of uncertainty, while at Time-2, uncertainty did not modulate RTs.These findings support a change in decision-making under uncertainty with successfulweight-rehabilitation in AN. While IU was present in underweight patients, it becamenon-significant after weight restoration.

Faculty

Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines

Department

Département de Psychologie

Language