Pilot Study on the Validity of the Metacognitive Hub Model of Craving in Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorders (BED)

Craving is defined as an irrepressible urge to consume certain products and represents one of the key factors in severe substance use disorders, as illustrated by its recent inclusion as a diagnostic criterion in the most recent fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5). However, the pathophysiological models of craving remain debated.

The "metacognitive hub model", a conceptual, experimental and clinical approach to craving, proposes that craving should be considered as the embedded consequence of the interaction between three components (the reflexive, automatic and interoceptive systems), each of which has an implicit and explicit element. This model links the three components by suggesting that metacognitive abilities, the ability to understand one's own cognitive functioning, may be a skill of individuals that allows them to make the three sub-components explicit or not.

To date, the conception of eating disorders is increasingly similar to that of addictive disorders. Indeed, there is growing evidence that the symptomatology of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder can be considered in part as an "food addiction" and would fit the diagnostic criteria of an addictive disorder. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder (DSM 5) characterized by a cycle of binge eating and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting that tend to negate or compensate for the effects of the binge eating. Binge eating disorder (DSM 5) is characterized by a cycle of binge eating, but without the compensatory behaviors seen in bulimia nervosa. In addition, there are common neurological aspects as well as similar cognitions between these eating disorders and addictive disorders. Given the importance of craving in addictive pathology, it seems essential to address this issue in bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The cognitive difficulties of patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, which are close to the difficulties observed in patients with addictive behaviors, suggest that the "metacognitive hub model" could provide a clear and measurable theoretical framework of the different dimensions of craving.

The overall objective of this project is to explore the relationship between the level of craving induced by food picture exposure and the level of impairment of the reflexive, automatic, interoceptive, and metacognitive systems in women with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder and to compare these impairments according to the nature of the eating disorder (i.e., binge eating versus bulimia nervosa).

Our hypotheses are:

1. the induction of food craving will affect the reflexive, automatic, and interoceptive systems of patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.
2. the magnitude of the effect of food craving induction on implicit craving and explicit craving will be modulated by the participants' metacognitive abilities.