Study Finds Anorexia Causes ‘Sizeable Reductions’ in the Brain

Image of the brain. Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock

Anorexia causes changes in the brain in ways much greater than seen in the brains of sufferers of other mental disorders, a UK study has found.

The study by neuroscientists at the University of Bath has highlighted the importance of early treatment interventions for people suffering from anorexia.

The study said that brain reductions in people with anorexia were found across three critical measures—decreased cortical thickness, subcortical volume, and cortical surface areas. Thinning in these regions is believed to imply a loss of brain cells and connection points.

“The brain changes in anorexia were more severe than in other any psychiatric condition we have studied,” said Dr. Paul Thompson, one of the study’s authors.

The authors found reductions in brain size and shape observed in the study were around two to four times greater than in people with conditions such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

The researchers attributed the “sizeable reductions” to decreases in the anorexic individuals’ body mass indexes (BMI). These reductions may be contributors to neuronal symptoms commonly exhibited in anorexic individuals such as disordered thinking, irritability, social withdrawal, and lack of emotion.

Despite the drastic difference in brain structure for anorexic individuals, the study suggested that by returning to a healthy diet and increasing nutritional intake, the loss in brain volume can be reversed.

“We found that the large reductions in brain structure, which we observed in patients, were less noticeable in patients already on the path to recovery,” said lead researcher Dr. Esther Walton.

The researchers compared brain scans across 1,648 women, of which 685 were anorexic and 963 were from recovering or healthy individuals. They found that previously anorexic individuals that had recovered some weight and nutrition intake had brain images that were closer to the normal brain map, implying brain volume recovery.

“This is a good sign, because it indicates that these changes might not be permanent. With the right treatment, the brain might be able to bounce back,” Walton said.

Anorexia, also named anorexia nervosa, is a mental health condition characterized by a distorted perception of a person’s own weight and a large fear of gaining weight. Individuals with this condition, usually have abnormally low weight and may try and maintain their weight through starvation, excessive exercise, or both.

The exact cause of anorexia is still unknown, with scientists speculating an array of background causes such as genetic, psychological, and social factors.

This condition currently has the highest mortality rate out of all mental health conditions, due to the intense starvation an individual inflicts on their body and brain.

Thompson said that their findings served as a “wake-up call” for early interventions in individuals with eating disorders.

He said some treatments and interventions are currently being evaluated, using the brain scans as a reference.

“These results confirm the importance of considering weight loss and re-nutrition in biomedical research on anorexia nervosa and underscore the importance of treatment engagement to prevent potentially long-lasting structural brain changes in this population,” the study said.

The study was published on May 31 in Biological Psychiatry, a bi-weekly, peer-reviewed journal.