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Table 2 Summary of physiological responses to body stimuli

From: Physiological, emotional and neural responses to visual stimuli in eating disorders: a review

 

Participants

Stimuli

Physiological outcome

Result of body shape stimuli

Oretga- Roldan et al. 2014 [36]

• 30 females with BN

• 30 HC

• Image of own body

• Startle noise

• Startle reflex

• ECG

• SCR

• Increased skin conductance response in BN > HC

• Decreased startle reflex in those with BN > HC

Friederich et al. 2006 [27]

• 15 AN female

• 15 BN female

• 30 HC

• Food images

• Body images

• Positive images

• Neutral images

• Aversive images

• Startle blink response

• No startle reflex potentiation of body > neutral in either BN or AN

Herbert et al. 2013 [37]

• 35 healthy females screened for ED risk

• Body words

• Neutral words

• Startle blink response

• HR

• No difference in startle modulation between body and neutral words

• HR differed significantly between body and neutral words

• Correlation between women with high body dissatisfaction and increased startle response to body > neutral words

Spresser et al. 2012 [38]

• 53 females who took the eating disorder inventory

• Picture of participants own face altered to different levels of weight gain

• Startle blink response

• Startle responses to self-image predicted more variance in drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction scores

Vocks et al. 2007 [39]

• 28 female HC

• 7 females with BN

• 5 females with AN

• 9 females with EDNOS

• Viewing own body image in a mirror

• HR

• SCR

• Increase in SCR when viewing own body image in both HC and ED group

Overduin et al. 1997 [33]

• 11 female restrained eaters

• 13 female controls

• Neutral images

• Food images

• Image of own Body

• SCR

• HR

• Startle reflex

• Facial EMG

• No difference in EMG or startle reflex for body shape image

• Increased SCR recovery time to body shape seen in both restrained and unrestrained eaters

• Increased heart rate acceleration to body image in both restrained and unrestrained eaters

Forghieri et al. 2016 [40]

• 18 female HC

• 10 females with AN

• 3 females with BN

• 4 females with EDNOS

• Neutral image

• Looking at a mirror

• Image of participants thin ideal body image

• Static posturography

• Increased body sway in ED group > HC when viewing own body image and ideal body image

• Increased body sway for own body image and ideal > neutral image