The Embodied Cognition: Exploratory Study of Automatic and Controlled Processes in Anorexia Nervosa.

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa

• Registration Number: NCT02538796
• Lead Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Brief Summary

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a common psychiatric illness, with severe prognosis (5% mortality) that has changed little over in half a century. One of the forms is the restrictive anorexia nervosa (ANR). It consists of a phobia of weight gain and food with a massive food restriction. This pathology is studied in psychology but not using the theories of embodied cognition in which "perception and action" interact through sensorimotor processes. They are the source of attitudes (unconscious) towards certain stimuli and influence our interpretation (conscious).

Detailed Description

The investigators hypothesis is that food restriction behavior is the result of two processes. One automatic and not conscious, which is an attraction toward food and manifests itself in the motivational attitudes of approach, and the other controlled and conscious, which prevents attraction to this type of stimuli and is manifested by motivational attitudes avoidance. These processes of attraction and avoidance are observed in embodied cognition paradigms because the answers induce movement of approach or avoidance of stimuli. The validation of these assumptions could lead to reconsideration of the respective roles of automatic and controlled processes in food behaviors of anorexics patients and to complete or refocus psychological techniques of care.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2011-05
• Study First Submitted: 2015-08-31
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-09-01
• Study First Posted: 2015-09-02
• Primary Completion: 2016-01
• Study Completion: 2016-01
• Status Verified: 2016-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2016-03-09
• Last Update Posted: 2016-03-10

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 176

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Response time (ms) in the different conditions of the three tasks (composite measure)	Day 1	Tasks are: * tap a key on the computer keyboard during the presentation of food and non-food words containing an "A" on a computer screen; * pull a lever towards you at the presentation of food and non-food words on a computer screen; * pull a lever towards you at the presentation of food and non-food words that approach on a computer screen

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
BMI in kg/m²	Day 1	The Body Mass Index (BMI) is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height.
Score EDI-2	Day 1	The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) is a self-report questionnaire used to assess the presence of eating disorders.
Silhouettes test score	Day 1	The patient selects among several silhouettes a silhouette to represent her real body image and her ideal body image.
Rate of wrong answers	Day 1	It is the rate of wrong answers in the different conditions of the three tasks.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

CHU de SAINT-ETIENNE; 🇫🇷 Saint-etienne, France