Neural Basis of Body Image: How to Lose Inches at the (Perceived) Flick of the Wrist

Body image disturbance is one of the main symptoms of eating disorders; however, the neural basis of this phenomenon is not well understood yet. In the present paper, we review studies investigating the neuronal correlates of visual body perception in anorexia nervosa. We first focus on the well-known parietal lobe contribution to body image processing and its malfunction. Additionally, we focus on the contribution and involvement of the extrastriate and fusiform body area in eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa. The summarized studies provide first evidence for a reduced activity, volume, and connectivity in brain areas involved and specialized in the visual processing of human bodies. In general, the reviewed studies provide evidence for abnormalities in body-processing brain areas in anorexia nervosa, indicating two structures in the brain that are involved: early stages of body processing in the visual extrastriate cortex and later stages in the parietal cortex.

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Neural basis of a multidimensional model of body image distortion in anorexia nervosa

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.05.003 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (8) ◽

pp. 1839-1847 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Santino Gaudio ◽

Carlo Cosimo Quattrocchi

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Image Distortion ◽

Multidimensional Model ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Body Image Distortion

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Body Image: Neural Basis of ‘Negative’ Phantom Limbs

Current Biology ◽

10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (11) ◽

pp. R644-R646

Author(s):

Matthew R. Longo

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Phantom Limbs

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Neural Basis of Motor Control

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America ◽

10.1016/s1047-9651(18)30549-7 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 615-622 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thomas Thach

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Neural Basis

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Neural Basis of Semantic Memory

10.1017/cbo9780511544965 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Keyword(s):

Semantic Memory ◽

Neural Basis

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Validierung einer deutschsprachigen Version des Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire BIAQ

Diagnostica ◽

10.1026/0012-1924.53.4.218 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 218-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Tanja Legenbauer ◽

Silja Vocks ◽

Sabine Schütt-Strömel

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Deutschsprachige Version ◽

Body Image Avoidance

Zusammenfassung. Ziel dieser Studie ist die Validierung der deutschsprachigen Übersetzung des Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ). Der 19-Item-Fragebogen ist ein Instrument zur Selbstbeurteilung von Verhaltensweisen, die häufig bei Körperbildstörungen auftreten und mit Sorgen hinsichtlich der physischen Erscheinung einhergehen können. Er erfasst insbesondere körperbezogenes Vermeidungs- und Kontrollverhalten. Die deutschsprachige Version des BIAQ wurde an einer Stichprobe von n = 296 Studentinnen (KG) und n = 64 Frauen mit einer Essstörung (EG) überprüft. Die explorative Faktorenanalyse ergab im Gegensatz zur Originalversion die drei Faktoren “Kleidung“, “Soziale Aktivitäten“ und “Essensbezogenes Kontrollverhalten“. Reliabilität und Trennschärfe sind als gut zu beschreiben. Die Skalen stehen in einem inhaltlichen Zusammenhang mit konvergenten Fragebögen zum Körperbild und zur Essstörungssymptomatik. Die Subskalen des BIAQ trennen zuverlässig zwischen EG und KG. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die deutschsprachige Übersetzung und Modifikation des BIAQ ein reliables und valides Instrument zur Beurteilung von körperbildbezogenem Vermeidungsverhalten ist.

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Emotional Reactivity to Visual Content as Revealed by ERP Component Clustering

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000145 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 135-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Miroslaw Wyczesany ◽

Szczepan J. Grzybowski ◽

Jan Kaiser

Keyword(s):

Emotional Reactivity ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Affective State ◽

Occipital Lobe ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Emotional States ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Temporoparietal Junction ◽

The Right ◽

The Impact

Abstract. In the study, the neural basis of emotional reactivity was investigated. Reactivity was operationalized as the impact of emotional pictures on the self-reported ongoing affective state. It was used to divide the subjects into high- and low-responders groups. Independent sources of brain activity were identified, localized with the DIPFIT method, and clustered across subjects to analyse the visual evoked potentials to affective pictures. Four of the identified clusters revealed effects of reactivity. The earliest two started about 120 ms from the stimulus onset and were located in the occipital lobe and the right temporoparietal junction. Another two with a latency of 200 ms were found in the orbitofrontal and the right dorsolateral cortices. Additionally, differences in pre-stimulus alpha level over the visual cortex were observed between the groups. The attentional modulation of perceptual processes is proposed as an early source of emotional reactivity, which forms an automatic mechanism of affective control. The role of top-down processes in affective appraisal and, finally, the experience of ongoing emotional states is also discussed.

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The Draw-A-Person Test and Body Image

Rorschachiana Journal of the International Society for the Rorschach ◽

10.1027/1192-5604/a000042 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 3-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jonathan E. Handelzalts ◽

Yael Ben-Artzy-Cohen

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Image ◽

Body Mass ◽

Significant Relationship ◽

Diet Group ◽

Female Students ◽

Self Report ◽

Body Image Scale ◽

Healthy Female

The Draw-A-Person (DAP) test has been the center of a long-lasting debate regarding its validity. This study investigated the DAP indices of height, width (size), and inclusion/omission of details and their relation to body image as measured by a self-report scale (Gray’s body image scale) and manifested by the diet behaviors and body mass index of 55 healthy female students. Although the drawings of the diet group were smaller, there was no significant relationship between figure size and diet behaviors. However, body image as measured by a self-report scale did result in significant differences between groups. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the size of the figure drawn and body image as measured by a self-report scale (larger figures correlated with better body image). No significant results were found for the omission/inclusion indices of the DAP. These results are discussed in light of previous findings regarding the DAP.

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