Cited by 90Eating Disorders and BehaviorsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesFace Recognition and Perception

Altered social reward and attention in anorexia nervosa

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Watson, Karli K.·2010·Frontiers in Psychology

Abstract

Dysfunctional social reward and social attention are present in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, schizophrenia, and social anxiety. Here we show that similar social reward and attention dysfunction are present in anorexia nervosa (AN), a disorder defined by avoidance of food and extreme weight loss. We measured the implicit reward value of social stimuli for female participants with (n = 11) and without (n = 11) AN using an econometric choice task and also tracked gaze patterns during free viewing of images of female faces and bodies. As predicted, the reward value of viewing bodies varied inversely with observed body weight for women with anorexia but not control women, in contrast with their explicit ratings of attractiveness. Surprisingly, women with AN, unlike control women, did not find female faces rewarding and avoided looking at both the face and eyes - independent of observed body weight. These findings suggest comorbid dysfunction in the neural circuits mediating gustatory and social reward in anorexia nervosa.

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  • Watson and colleagues outlined a framework delineating linkages between AN and reward-processing deficits, stressing the highly social nature of eating, the overlapping reward circuitry of gustatory and social stimuli, and the tendency of individuals with AN to deprive themselves of pleasure.

    “Watson and colleagues [334] outlined a framework delineating linkages between AN and reward-processing deficits. Their model stressed the highly social nature of eating, the overlapping reward circuitry of gustatory and social stimuli [335,336], and the tendency of individuals with AN to deprive themselves of pleasure.”
  • Women with anorexia nervosa avoid looking at the faces and eyes of others and find them less rewarding compared to non-eating disorder controls.

    “Evidence from behavioral studies suggests women with AN avoid looking at the faces and eyes of others and find them less rewarding compared to non-eating disorder controls (100), while at the neural level, areas of hypo- and hyperactivation have been identified in response to positive and negative social exchanges, respectively (101, 102).”

    From A transdiagnostic perspective on social anhedonia (2019) · cites this paper as [100]

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  1. Fairburn C. Cooper Z. (1993). “The eating disorders examination,” in Binge-Eating: Nature, Assessment and Treatment, 12th Edn, eds Fairburn C. Wilson G. C. (New York: Guilford Press), 317– 360

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Authors
Watson, K. K.
Affiliations
Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Watson, Karli K.
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Published
2010
Volume
1
Pages
36-36
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2147639757
Cited by
90
References
34
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 8
FWCI
4.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Autism Speaks (AS1636)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH078211, R01MH086712, RC1MH088678)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
anorexia nervosa, social reward, social attention, gaze patterns, body weight, female faces, body attractiveness

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