Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we diet: Effects of anticipated deprivation on food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters.

This study examined the effect of anticipated food deprivation on intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Participants were randomly assigned to a diet condition, in which they expected to diet for a week, or to a control (no-diet) condition. Immediately after being assigned to a condition, participants completed a taste-rating task in which food consumption was measured. Restrained eaters in the diet condition consumed significantly more food than did restrained eaters in the no-diet condition or unrestrained eaters in either condition. Unrestrained eaters consumed the same amount regardless of condition. These results confirm that merely planning to go on a diet can trigger overeating in restrained eaters, reflecting the dynamic connection between dieting and overeating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frontal brain asymmetry in restrained eaters.

It is well known that the eating patterns that restrain chronic dieters (restrained eaters) can be disinhibited by anxiety, which in turn has been associated with relative right frontal brain activity in independent electroencephalographic (EEG) studies. Combining these two lines of evidence, the authors tested the hypothesis that chronic restrained eating is associated with relative right frontal asymmetry. Resting anterior brain asymmetry and self-reported measures of anxiety and depression were collected in 23 restrained and 32 unrestrained eaters. As hypothesized, groups differed in tonic frontal activity, with restrained eaters showing more relative right frontal activity. Furthermore, relative right frontal activity was associated with greater self-reported restraint. Right-sided prefrontal asymmetry may thus represent a diathesis associated with increased vulnerability toward restrained eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to slim images in mass media: Television commercials as reminders of restriction in restrained eaters.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of exposure to slim images and diet-related products in commercials on actual food intake in relation to dietary restraint. Design: An experimental design was used, in which food intake was measured in 124 female students who watched either a sad or a neutral movie on television, which was interrupted by either commercials featuring slim models and diet products, or neutral commercials. Subsequently, participants filled out questionnaires on dietary restraint and any tendency toward overeating. Main outcome variable: Intake of snack food while watching television. Results: It was found that highly restrained students exposed to commercials with slim models and diet-related products ate less food, whereas less restrained eaters ate slightly more after seeing these commercials. Conclusion: The findings suggest that restrained eaters confronted with diet products and slim images when watching television will be reminded of their restricted eating behavior and eat less. The present study provides support for the reinhibition theory of slim media images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-reflection and the psychosis-prone brain: An fMRI study.

Objective: The Cortical Midline Structures (CMS) play a critical role in self-reflection, together with the insula. Abnormalities in self-referential processing and its neural underpinnings have been reported in schizophrenia and at-risk populations, suggesting they might be markers of psychotic vulnerability. Psychometric measures of schizotypal traits may be used to index psychosis proneness (PP) in nonclinical samples. It remains an unresolved question whether differences in self-reflective processing are associated with PP. Method: Six hundred students completed the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences Questionnaire, positive subscale. Two groups were formed from the extremes of the distribution (total N = 36). fMRI was used to examine CMS/insula function during a self-reflection task. Participants judged personality trait sentences about self and about an acquaintance. Results: High PP subjects attributed less positive traits to others (i.e., acquaintances) than subjects with low PP. Across groups, the contrasts self > semantic and self > other induced activation in CMS and insula, whereas other > semantic did not produce insula activation. Other > self induced posterior cingulate cortex activation in low PP but not in high PP. In addition, high PP subjects showed stronger activation than low PP in left insula during self > semantic. Examining valence effects revealed that high PP individuals showed increased activation in left insula, right dMPFC, and left vMPFC for positive self-related traits, and in bilateral insula, ACC, and right dMPFC for negative self-related traits. Conclusions: The findings suggest that aspects of self-referential processing and underlying brain mechanisms are similar in clinical and subclinical (high PP) forms of psychosis, suggesting that these may be associated with vulnerability to psychosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Restrained eating and BMI: A longitudinal study among adolescents.

Objective: Although restrained eating is believed to increase overeating and weight in the long term, the opposite has also been found: Heavy individuals are more likely to diet. The objective of the current study was to test both pathways for adolescents. Design: A longitudinal model was used to explore the bidirectional associations between restrained eating and body mass index (BMI). Main Outcome Measures: At 3 annual waves, restrained eating and BMI were obtained from both older (M age 15.2 years old) and younger (M age 13.4 years old) adolescent boys and girls who were sibling pairs in 404 Dutch families. Results: Structural equation modeling showed that BMI predicted restrained eating more consistently than the other way round. The results remained the same when analyzed by sex, age, socioeconomic status, and overeating tendency. Thus, in our general survey of adolescents restrained eating did not seem to be a successful weight loss strategy, nor did it consistently predict weight increase. Conclusion: Positive associations between restrained eating and BMI should mainly be interpreted in the sense that higher BMI predicted more restrained eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance": Correction to Fredrickson et al. (1998).

Reports an error in "That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance" by Barbara L. Fredrickson, Tomi-Ann Roberts, Stephanie M. Noll, Diane M. Quinn and Jean M. Twenge (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998[Jul], Vol 75[1], 269-284). This article contains errors in the Participants sections. The corrected information is included in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1998-04530-020.) Objectification theory (B. L. Fredrickson & T Roberts, 1997) posits that American culture socializes women to adopt observers' perspectives on their physical selves. This self-objectification is hypothesized to (a) produce body shame, which in turn leads to restrained eating, and (b) consume attentional resources, which is manifested in diminished mental performance. Two experiments manipulated self-objectification by having participants try on a swimsuit or a sweater. Experiment 1 tested 72 women and found that self-objectification increased body shame, which in turn predicted restrained eating. Experiment 2 tested 42 women and 40 men and found that these effects on body shame and restrained eating replicated for women only. Additionally, self-objectification diminished math performance for women only. Discussion centers on the causes and consequences of objectifying women's bodies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial working memory performance and fMRI activation interaction in abstinent adolescent marijuana users.

Previous studies have suggested neural disruption and reorganization in adult marijuana users. However, it remains unclear whether these effects persist in adolescents after 28 days of abstinence and, if they do, what Performance × Brain Response interactions occur. Adolescent marijuana users (n=17) and controls (n=17) aged 16-18 years were recruited from local schools. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected after 28 days' monitored abstinence as participants performed a spatial working memory task. Marijuana users show Performance × Brain Response interactions in the bilateral temporal lobes, left anterior cingulate, left parahippocampal gyrus, and right thalamus (clusters ≥1358 μl; p     

Changes in fMRI Following Cognitive Rehabilitation in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Study.

Objective: To illustrate the relationship between changes in neuropsychological testing and changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT). Study Design: Single case study. Setting: Outpatient treatment center. Participant: A woman with history of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) 16 years before study. Intervention: Individualized CRT using a developmental metacognitive model. Main Outcome Measures: Neuropsychological tests and fMRI imaging performed during an eye movement task and a reading comprehension task. Results: Improvements on some neuropsychological test scores (>1 SD) and changes in the magnitude and distribution of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response as a function of task performance on both fMRI tasks. Conclusions: Individuals with severe TBI many years postinjury can demonstrate improvements in neuropsychological testing following CRT. Behavioral improvements can be related to changes in brain activity using fMRI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissociative states in eating disorders: An empirical Rorschach study.

The study explores the DSM-IV-TR classification of eating disorders that is constituted of four subtypes, two of them defined as anorexia (restricting and binge eating/purging) and two as bulimia (purging and non-purging). This classification is based on body weight as the distinguishing criterion. However, psychoanalytic thinking substantially distinguishes between restricting anorexia and the other three subtypes, all of them involving binge eating. Accordingly, binge eating patients are assumed to present different personality characteristics and different dynamics including dissociation proneness as a core component of the disturbance. The dissociative component of binge eating is examined by using the Rorschach Reality-Fantasy Scale (RFS; Tibon, Handelzalts, & Weinberger, 2005) and other Rorschach measures in a sample of 61 female adolescent inpatients diagnosed with eating disorders. This sample was divided into two groups by using the criterion of whether or not the symptoms involve binge eating behavior. The results support the view that dissociation between reality and fantasy is an important facet of binge eating disorders. A case study that demonstrates the utility of the RFS is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Order Information in Working Memory: An Integrative Review of Evidence From Brain and Behavior.

Evidence about memory for order information comes from a number of different methodologies: human cognition, patient studies, neuroimaging studies, and animal lesion and behavioral studies. The present article discusses (a) evidence that order and item memory are separable; (b) proposed mechanisms for order memory (interitem associations, direct codes, hierarchical codes, feature codes, and magnitude codes) and evidence for each; (c) evidence for the neural substrates of order memory from patient, neuroimaging, and animal lesion and single-cell recording studies; (d) barriers to integration between the disciplines; and (e) suggestions for better coordination of efforts between the different disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brain activation while forming memories of fearful and neutral faces in women and men.

Event-related functional MRI (fMRI) was used to assess brain activity during encoding of fearful and neutral faces in 12 women and 12 men. In a subsequent memory analysis, the authors separated successful from unsuccessful encoding of both types of faces, based on whether they were remembered or forgotten in a later recognition memory test. Overall, women and men recruited overlapping neural circuitries. Both sexes activated right-sided medial-temporal regions during successful encoding of fearful faces. Successful encoding of neutral faces was associated with left-sided lateral prefrontal and right-sided superior frontal activation in both sexes. In women, relatively greater encoding related activity for neutral faces was seen in the superior parietal and parahippocampal cortices. By contrast, men activated the left and right superior/middle frontal cortex more than women during successful encoding of the same neutral faces. These findings suggest that women and men use similar neural networks to encode facial information, with only subtle sex differences observed for neutral faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fasting increases risk for onset of binge eating and bulimic pathology: A 5-year prospective study.

Although adolescent girls with elevated dietary restraint scores are at increased risk for future binge eating and bulimic pathology, they do not eat less than those with lower restraint scores. The fact that only a small proportion of individuals with elevated dietary restraint scores develop bulimic pathology suggests that some extreme but rare form of dietary restriction may increase risk for this disturbance. The authors tested the hypothesis that fasting (going without eating for 24 hr for weight control) would be a more potent predictor of binge eating and bulimic pathology onset than dietary restraint scores using data from 496 adolescent girls followed over 5 years. Results confirmed that only 23% of participants with elevated dietary restraint scores reported fasting. Furthermore, fasting generally showed stronger and more consistent predictive relations to future onset of recurrent binge eating and threshold/subthreshold bulimia nervosa over 1- to 5-year follow-up relative to dietary restraint, though the former effects were only significantly stronger than the latter for some comparisons. Results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that fasting is a stronger risk factor for bulimic pathology than is self-reported dieting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reformulating and testing the perfectionism model of binge eating among undergraduate women: A short-term, three-wave longitudinal study.

The perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE) is an integrative model explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. This study reformulates and tests the PMOBE, with a focus on addressing limitations observed in the perfectionism and binge-eating literature. In the reformulated PMOBE, concern over mistakes is seen as a destructive aspect of perfectionism contributing to a cycle of binge eating via 4 binge-eating maintenance variables: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. This test of the reformulated PMOBE involved 200 undergraduate women studied using a 3-wave longitudinal design. As hypothesized, concern over mistakes appears to represent a vulnerability factor for binge eating. Bootstrapped tests of mediation suggested concern over mistakes contributes to binge eating through binge-eating maintenance variables, and results supported the incremental validity of the reformulated PMOBE beyond perfectionistic strivings and neuroticism. The reformulated PMOBE also predicted binge eating, but not binge drinking, supporting the specificity of this model. The reformulated PMOBE offers a framework for understanding how key contributors to binge eating work together to generate and to maintain binge eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging minds and twisting attitudes: An fMRI investigation of age differences in inhibiting prejudice.

Cognitive capacity is believed to decline with age, but it is not known whether this decline extends to tasks involving social cognition. In the current study, social neuroscience methodologies were used to examine the effects of age-related cognitive decline on older adults’ abilities to engage regulatory mechanisms (which are typically impaired by normal aging) to inhibit negative reactions to stigmatized individuals. Older and young adults were presented with images of stigmatized individuals (e.g., individuals with amputations, substance abusers) and of normal controls while they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. All participants were also given a battery of tests to assess their executive function capacity. Young adults showed more activity in areas associated with empathy (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex) than did older adults when viewing stigmatized faces. By contrast, older adults with relatively preserved levels of executive function had heightened activity in areas previously implicated in emotion regulation (i.e., lateral prefrontal cortex) as compared to other groups. These results suggest that although cognitive decline may interfere with older adults’ attitudes toward stigmatized individuals, older adults with relatively preserved cognitive function may utilize different strategies to compensate for these deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing the neural basis of decision making in social dilemmas of people with different social value orientations, a fMRI study.

Using functional MRI, we investigate the neural correlates of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation to cooperate by comparing people who differ in the personality trait Social Value Orientation. Participants (n = 28) played several one-shot prisoner's dilemma games (offering weak cooperative incentives) and coordination games (offering strong cooperative incentives) with anonymous partners while they were under the scanner. Behavioral results indicate that proself individuals adjust their behavior toward more cooperation when extrinsic incentives were present, while prosocials' decisions are not affected by game context. The neurological data is consistent with a priori developed hypotheses regarding different behavioral strategies, and suggest that extrinsically motivated proself strategies are driven by calculation and a situation-by-situation approach. Increased activation was found in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), and precuneus. Intrinsically motivated prosocials' strategies reflect norm compliance, routine moral judgment, and social awareness. Increased activation was found in lateral orbitofrontal cortex, anterior STS, and inferior parietal lobule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating: An adoption study.

Twin studies indicate significant genetic, but little shared environmental, influences on eating disorders. However, critics argue that study limitations constrain the conclusions that can be drawn. Adoption studies avoid many of these limitations, but to date, no adoption studies of eating pathology have been conducted. The current study was the first adoption study to examine genetic/environmental effects for disordered eating. Participants included 123 adopted and 56 biological female sibling pairs. Disordered eating (i.e., overall eating pathology, body dissatisfaction, weight preoccupation, binge eating) was assessed with the Minnesota Eating Behaviors Survey (Klump, McGue, & Iacono, 2000; von Ranson, Klump, Iacono, & McGue, 2005). Biometric model fitting indicated significant genetic influences (59%–82%) on all forms of disordered eating, with nonshared environmental factors accounting for the remaining variance. Shared environmental factors did not contribute significantly to any disordered eating symptom. Our findings bolster those from twin studies and provide critical evidence of significant genetic effects on disordered eating symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory verbal working memory load and thalamic activation in nonpsychotic relatives of persons with schizophrenia: An fMRI replication.

First-degree relatives of persons with schizophrenia are at genetic risk for the illness and show deficits on high-load information-processing tasks. In a prior study of auditory working memory (WM) using functional MRI (fMRI), the authors demonstrated that adult relatives had significantly increased activation in the dorsomedial (DM) thalamus, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex (H. W. Thermenos et al., 2004). In this study, the authors extended this work using a parametric WM task designed for fMRI in an independent, unmedicated sample. Twelve nonpsychotic relatives of persons with schizophrenia and 13 healthy controls were administered multiple versions of an auditory continuous performance test during fMRI. Data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Compared with controls, relatives showed significantly greater task-elicited activation in the DM thalamus. When fMRI signal change was modeled as a function of increasing WM load, there was a significant Group × Load interaction, with relatives showing significantly greater task-elicited activation in the right DM thalamus compared with controls. Greater DM thalamic activation in the relatives remained significant when WM performance, vocabulary score, and education were controlled. This replication suggests that altered thalamic activation is a feature of neurobiological risk for schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cortical brain regions engaged by masked emotional faces in adolescents and adults: An fMRI study.

Face-emotion processing has shown signs of developmental change during adolescence. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used on 10 adolescents and 10 adults to contrast brain regions engaged by a masked emotional-face task (viewing a fixation cross and a series of masked happy and masked fearful faces), while blood oxygen level dependent signal was monitored by a 1.5-T MRI scanner. Brain regions differentially engaged in the 2 age groups were mapped by using statistical parametric mapping. Summed across groups, the contrast of masked face versus fixation-cross viewing generated activations in occipital-temporal regions previously activated in passive face-viewing tasks. Adolescents showed higher maxima for activations in posterior association cortex for 3 of the 4 statistical contrasts. Adolescents and adults differed in the degree to which posterior hemisphere brain areas were engaged by viewing masked facial displays of emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parallel recovery in a bilingual aphasic: A neurolinguistic and fMRI study.

In bilingual aphasics, the neural correlates of rehabilitation benefits and their generalization across languages are still scarcely understood. The authors present the case of a highly proficient bilingual woman (Flemish, L1/Italian, L2) with chronic aphasia who, in the presence of the same pattern of impairment in both languages, showed parallel recovery in both languages after long-term rehabilitation therapy in L2. The authors postulated that this recovery was due to the engagement of the same neural substrates. To confirm this the authors used an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm to explore cortical activation during an overt picture naming task, performed in both Flemish and Italian once before and once after 2 weeks of training in L2. Behaviorally, the patient showed complete recovery of both languages. The fMRI results indicated that the same cerebral regions were recruited for both languages before and after training. Increasing activations were observed perilesionally and in homologous contralesional areas. Our data, in agreement with previous results of fMRI studies in healthy bilinguals, indicate a promising direction for future research on the neural mechanisms associated with recovery in bilingual aphasics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)