5-HT₁A receptor binding is increased after recovery from bulimia nervosa compared to control women and is associated with behavioral inhibition in both groups

Abstract

Objective: Because altered serotonin (5-HT) function appears to persist after recovery from bulimia nervosa (RBN), we investigated the 5-HT(1A) receptor, which could contribute to regulation of appetite, mood, impulse control, or the response to antidepressants.

Method: Thirteen RBN individuals were compared to 21 healthy control women (CW) using positron emission tomography and [carbonyl-(11)C]WAY100635 ([(11)C]WAY).

Results: RBN had a 23-34% elevation of [(11)C]WAY binding potential (BP)(P) in subgenual cingulate, mesial temporal, and parietal regions after adjustments for multiple comparisons. For CW, [(11)C]WAY BP(P) was related negatively to novelty seeking, whereas for RBN, [(11)C]WAY BP(P) was related positively to harm avoidance and negatively related to sensation seeking.

Discussion: Alterations of 5-HT(1A) receptor function may provide new insight into efficacy of 5-HT medication in BN, as well as symptoms such as the ability to inhibit or self-control the expression of behaviors related to stimulus seeking, aggression, and impulsivity.

FIGURE 1

Representational scatter plots for logan [¹¹C] WAY 100635 BP_P in the medial orbital frontal cortex (left graph) and mesial temporal cortex (right graph) in RBN and CW.

FIGURE 2

Correlation between Novelty Seeking (NS) and logan [¹¹C] WAY 100635 BP_P for prefrontal cortex (r = −.73, p = .0003, n = 20*) and orbital frontal cortex (r = −.61, p = .005, n = 20*) in CW; * indicates that one CW did not have NS value available.