Brain stimulation may reduce symptoms and improve decision-making in people with anorexia

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/kcl-bsm032316.php

Public Release: 23-Mar-2016
Brain stimulation may reduce symptoms and improve decision-making in people with anorexia
King's College London

Core symptoms of anorexia nervosa, including the urge to restrict food intake and feeling fat, are reduced after just one session of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, according to King's College London research published today in PLOS ONE.

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Up to 20 per cent of people with anorexia die prematurely from the disorder and treatments in adults are moderately effective, with only 20-30 per cent of people recovering from the best available talking therapies.

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Dr Jessica McClelland, Post-doctoral Researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, and first author of the study, said: 'With rTMS we targeted the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain thought to be involved in some of the self-regulation difficulties associated with anorexia. This technique alters neural activity by delivering magnetic pulses to specific regions of the brain, which feels like a gentle tapping sensation on the side of the head.

'We found that one session of rTMS reduced the urge to restrict food intake, levels of feeling full and levels of feeling fat, as well as encouraging more prudent decision-making. Taken together, these findings suggest that brain stimulation may reduce symptoms of anorexia by improving cognitive control over compulsive features of the disorder.'

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Compared to the placebo group, they found that participants who had real rTMS showed a tendency for more prudent decision-making - that is, they waited for larger, later rewards (i.e. delayed gratification), rather than choosing the more impulsive smaller, sooner option.

The study authors point out that although these findings were only a statistical trend, there is a clear improvement in symptoms and decision-making abilities following just one session of rTMS. It is likely that with a larger sample and multiple sessions of rTMS these effects would be even stronger.

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