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. 2015 Jul 2;10(7):e0131724.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131724. eCollection 2015.

Do Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Display an Inefficient Cognitive Processing Style?

Katie Lang  1 , Samantha Lloyd  1 , Mizanur Khondoker  2 , Mima Simic  3 , Janet Treasure  1 , Kate Tchanturia  4
Affiliations

Do Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Display an Inefficient Cognitive Processing Style?

Katie Lang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine neuropsychological processing in children and adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The relationship of clinical and demographic variables to neuropsychological functioning within the AN group was also explored.

Method: The performance of 41 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of AN were compared to 43 healthy control (HC) participants on a number of neuropsychological measures.

Results: There were no differences in IQ between AN and HC groups. However, children and adolescents with AN displayed significantly more perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and lower Style and Central Coherence scores on the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test relative to HCs.

Conclusion: Inefficient cognitive processing in the AN group was independent of clinical and demographic variables, suggesting it might represent an underlying trait for AN. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Z scores for neuropsychological performance for AN and HC groups.
Footnotes: WCST = Wisconsin Card Sorting Task; L2L = Learning to learn; FPT = Fragmented Pictures Task; OI = Order Index; SI = Style Index; CCI = Central Coherence Index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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