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Cited by 89Body Image and Dysmorphia StudiesPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsObsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

Executive function in body dysmorphic disorder

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Dunai, J., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D. J., Kyrios, M., Rossell, S. L.·2010·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s003329170999198x
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a poorly understood disorder that involves a preoccupation with imagined or minor bodily defects. Only a few studies of neuropsychological function have been conducted. Two previous studies have indicated executive dysfunction in BDD. The current study sought to further define these executive deficits. METHOD: Fourteen DSM-IV BDD patients and 14 age- and sex-matched control participants took part. Because of the high incidence of co-morbidity in BDD, patients with co-morbid Axis I disorders were not excluded. Control participants had no history of psychiatric illness. All participants completed the following executive function (EF) tests: Spatial Span (SS), Spatial Working Memory (SWM) and the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) task. They also completed the Pattern Recognition (PR) test, a test of visual memory (VM). RESULTS: BDD participants made significantly more between-search errors on the SWM task, an effect that increased with task difficulty. Between-search errors are an example of poor maintenance and manipulation of information. SOC results indicated slower subsequent thinking times (i.e. the time taken to plan) in BDD participants. There were no group differences in SS or PR scores. The severity of BDD, depressive or anxiety symptoms was not correlated with performance on any of the cognitive tasks. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that BDD patients have EF deficits in on-line manipulation, planning and organization of information. By contrast, spatial memory capacity, motor speed and visual memory were intact. Considered with evidence from lesion and neuroimaging studies, these results suggest frontal lobe dysfunction in BDD.

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  • Another study found that BDD patients showed impairments in cognitive function but not visual and spatial memory.

    “Another study however found that BDD patients showed impairments in cognitive function but not visual and spatial memory.”

    From Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Etiology, neuropathology, and cognitive dysfunction (2023) · cites this paper as Dunai et al., 2010

  • No difference was found in spatial and visual memory capacity and motor speed between BDD patients and controls.

    “míg a téri és vizuális memória kapacitásában és a motoros sebességben nem volt különbség (Dunai, Labuschagne, Castle, Kyrios és Rossell, 2010).”

    From A testdiszmorfiás zavar pszichológiai vonatkozásai (2023) · cites this paper as Dunai, Labuschagne, Castle, Kyrios és Rossell, 2010

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3 of the 22 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. First MB, Spitzer RL, Gibbon M, Williams JB (1996). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Clinician Version (SCID-CV). American Psychiatric Press : Washington, DC.
  2. Fray P, Robbins T, Sahakian B (1996). Neuropsychiatric applications of CANTAB. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 11, 329-336.
  3. Dunai, J., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D. J., Kyrios, M. & Rossell, S. L. (2010). Executive function in body dysmorphic disorder. PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE, 40 (9), pp.1541-1548. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329170999198X. Publication Status: Published Persistent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/33026 File Description: Executive function in body dysmorphic disorder · DOI

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Authors
Dunai, J., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D. J., Kyrios, M., & Rossell, S. L.
Affiliations
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research centre (AU)
  • Mental Health Research Institute (AU)
  • Swinburne University of Technology (AU)
Corresponding author
Rossell, S. L.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2009-12-02
Volume
40
Issue
9
Pages
1541-1548
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s003329170999198x
OpenAlex
W2123824795
Cited by
89
References
22
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 8
FWCI
2.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology)
Funders
University of Cambridge
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
Keywords
body dysmorphic disorder, executive function, executive dysfunction, spatial working memory, spatial span, visual memory, planning, frontal lobe dysfunction, neuropsychological deficits
MeSH terms
Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Reaction Time, Mental Recall, Case-Control Studies, Matched-Pair Analysis, Executive Function, Body Dysmorphic Disorders

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