Treating Body-Image Distortion in Anorexia Nervosa, One Hemisphere at a Time

Feeling too fat, a negative distortion of self-body image, is a key characteristic of anorexia nervosa (AN). Previous work has suggested left-hemisphere preponderance in both body-image distortions and negative self-infiltrations (falsely ascribing norms or tasks originating with others to oneself, often accompanied by feelings such as shame and compulsion). Conversely, right-hemisphere activations have been associated with more realistic self-representations, consistent with observations that deficits in self-awareness might accompany right-hemisphere lesions. To investigate whether these findings apply to body-image distortions and their modification in AN, researchers enrolled 20 women with AN and 22 healthy control women.

Participants we…