Electroencephalographic (EEG) alterations in young women with high subclinical eating pathology levels: a quantitative E
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Electroencephalographic (EEG) alterations in young women with high subclinical eating pathology levels: a quantitative EEG study Claudio Imperatori1 · Chiara Massullo1 · Giuseppe Alessio Carbone1 · Benedetto Farina1 · Fabrizia Colmegna2 · Ilaria Riboldi3 · Ester Di Giacomo2,3 · Massimo Clerici2,3 · Antonios Dakanalis3 Received: 19 July 2019 / Accepted: 17 October 2019 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract Purpose To explore electroencephalographic (EEG) alterations in young women with different eating disorder (ED) psychopathology levels. Methods Thirty-seven young women completed general and ED psychopathology (i.e., the ED Examination Questionnaire; EDE-Q) measures. EEG power spectra data were investigated in two conditions: (a) 5 min of resting state (RS) and (b) 5 min of RS after a single taste of a milkshake (ML-RS). EEG analyses were performed using exact Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography software (eLORETA). Results Cluster analysis performed on the EDE-Q responses revealed a group of 17 women with high levels of ED pathology falling into the subclinical (i.e., sub-threshold) EDs category and a group of 20 women with low levels of ED pathology (controls). In the RS conditions, no significant modifications were observed between groups. Compared to controls, women with subclinical EDs showed an increase in theta activity in the parieto-occipital areas in the ML-RS condition. After controlling for body mass index and general psychopathology, theta activity in these brain structures was positively associated with EDE-Q global and subscale (restraint, shape and weight concern) scores. Conclusions Our results may reflect the neurophysiological substrate of ED psychopathology core features like shape/weight concerns. Previous brain imaging and qEEG studies with full-syndrome ED patients also underscored the involvement of parieto-occipital areas in ED pathophysiology. These studies also found brain alterations in the RS condition, not observed here. This is notable given that full-syndrome and subclinical EDs are considered as different manifestations of the same disease along a severity spectrum. Level of evidence Level V, cross-sectional, electroencephalographic, descriptive study. Keywords Quantitative electroencephalography · eLORETA · Women · Eating pathology
Introduction Eating disorders (EDs), characterized by disturbances in eating patterns and body image, are debilitating and often chronic, relapsing disorders that tend to affect young women [1–5]. They are associated with medical * Antonios Dakanalis [email protected] 1
Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, Via degli Aldobrandeschi 190, 00163 Rome, Italy
2
Department of Psychiatry, San Gerardo Hospital, ASST Monza, Via G. B. Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, Italy
3
Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
complications and psychiatric comorbidity and have an impact in terms of health-related quality of life and eve
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