Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.

<h4>Background</h4>Body image distortion is a central symptom of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Even if corporeal awareness is multisensory majority of AN studies mainly investigated visual misperception. We systematically reviewed AN studies that have investigated different nonvisual sensory in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Santino Gaudio, Samantha Jane Brooks, Giuseppe Riva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110087
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849254232965775360
author Santino Gaudio
Samantha Jane Brooks
Giuseppe Riva
author_facet Santino Gaudio
Samantha Jane Brooks
Giuseppe Riva
author_sort Santino Gaudio
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Body image distortion is a central symptom of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Even if corporeal awareness is multisensory majority of AN studies mainly investigated visual misperception. We systematically reviewed AN studies that have investigated different nonvisual sensory inputs using an integrative multisensory approach to body perception. We also discussed the findings in the light of AN neuroimaging evidence.<h4>Methods</h4>PubMed and PsycINFO were searched until March, 2014. To be included in the review, studies were mainly required to: investigate a sample of patients with current or past AN and a control group and use tasks that directly elicited one or more nonvisual sensory domains.<h4>Results</h4>Thirteen studies were included. They studied a total of 223 people with current or past AN and 273 control subjects. Overall, results show impairment in tactile and proprioceptive domains of body perception in AN patients. Interoception and multisensory integration have been poorly explored directly in AN patients. A limitation of this review is the relatively small amount of literature available.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our results showed that AN patients had a multisensory impairment of body perception that goes beyond visual misperception and involves tactile and proprioceptive sensory components. Furthermore, impairment of tactile and proprioceptive components may be associated with parietal cortex alterations in AN patients. Interoception and multisensory integration have been weakly explored directly. Further research, using multisensory approaches as well as neuroimaging techniques, is needed to better define the complexity of body image distortion in AN.<h4>Key findings</h4>The review suggests an altered capacity of AN patients in processing and integration of bodily signals: body parts are experienced as dissociated from their holistic and perceptive dimensions. Specifically, it is likely that not only perception but memory, and in particular sensorimotor/proprioceptive memory, probably shapes bodily experience in patients with AN.
format Article
id doaj-art-537ec51b5f104e68b42bdb578ccbb267
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-537ec51b5f104e68b42bdb578ccbb2672025-08-20T03:56:05ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-01910e11008710.1371/journal.pone.0110087Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.Santino GaudioSamantha Jane BrooksGiuseppe Riva<h4>Background</h4>Body image distortion is a central symptom of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Even if corporeal awareness is multisensory majority of AN studies mainly investigated visual misperception. We systematically reviewed AN studies that have investigated different nonvisual sensory inputs using an integrative multisensory approach to body perception. We also discussed the findings in the light of AN neuroimaging evidence.<h4>Methods</h4>PubMed and PsycINFO were searched until March, 2014. To be included in the review, studies were mainly required to: investigate a sample of patients with current or past AN and a control group and use tasks that directly elicited one or more nonvisual sensory domains.<h4>Results</h4>Thirteen studies were included. They studied a total of 223 people with current or past AN and 273 control subjects. Overall, results show impairment in tactile and proprioceptive domains of body perception in AN patients. Interoception and multisensory integration have been poorly explored directly in AN patients. A limitation of this review is the relatively small amount of literature available.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our results showed that AN patients had a multisensory impairment of body perception that goes beyond visual misperception and involves tactile and proprioceptive sensory components. Furthermore, impairment of tactile and proprioceptive components may be associated with parietal cortex alterations in AN patients. Interoception and multisensory integration have been weakly explored directly. Further research, using multisensory approaches as well as neuroimaging techniques, is needed to better define the complexity of body image distortion in AN.<h4>Key findings</h4>The review suggests an altered capacity of AN patients in processing and integration of bodily signals: body parts are experienced as dissociated from their holistic and perceptive dimensions. Specifically, it is likely that not only perception but memory, and in particular sensorimotor/proprioceptive memory, probably shapes bodily experience in patients with AN.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110087
spellingShingle Santino Gaudio
Samantha Jane Brooks
Giuseppe Riva
Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
PLoS ONE
title Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
title_full Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
title_fullStr Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
title_full_unstemmed Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
title_short Nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of neuropsychological studies.
title_sort nonvisual multisensory impairment of body perception in anorexia nervosa a systematic review of neuropsychological studies
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110087
work_keys_str_mv AT santinogaudio nonvisualmultisensoryimpairmentofbodyperceptioninanorexianervosaasystematicreviewofneuropsychologicalstudies
AT samanthajanebrooks nonvisualmultisensoryimpairmentofbodyperceptioninanorexianervosaasystematicreviewofneuropsychologicalstudies
AT giusepperiva nonvisualmultisensoryimpairmentofbodyperceptioninanorexianervosaasystematicreviewofneuropsychologicalstudies