Anorexia Nervosa Flashcards
What is AN?
A mental disorder characterised by the pursuit of extreme thinness and by extreme loss of weight
What are the prevalence rates, age of onset and mortality rates of AN?
Prevalence rates: 1-3% of adolescent females
Age of onset: 14-18 years old
Mortality rates: 2-8%
Name 3 treatments of AN + the big problem in treating AN
- hospitalization
- medications
- psychotherapy
problem: patients (especially in the acute phase) deny the problem (up to 90% are not in treatment)
What is the etiology in AN?
- sociocultural factors
- genetics
- neurotransmitters (abnormal levels ofserotonin, NE and DA)
- brain morpology (sulcal widening, ventricular dilation, cortical atrophy)
What are the main two proposed neuropsychological deficits in AN?
Set-shifting
Central coherence
What is set-shifting?
The ability to move back and forth between multiple tasks, operations or mental sets (is an executive function ability)
Name 2 measures of set-shifting
- time taken on the TMT part B
- number of perseverative errors on the WCST
What is central coherence?`
The natural tendency for people to integrate incoming information into context, gestalt and meaning
Name the 2 dimensions of weak central coherence
- bias towards superior detail processing
- weakness for global integration
Name a task in which 1) detail processing would benefit performance and 2) global processing would benefit performance
1) Embedded Figure Test
2) Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test
