Personality, clinical features, and test instructions can affect executive functions in Eating Disorders

Cognitive deficits in Eating Disorders have been related to the executive function domain. Yet, to date, only few works investigated the relationship between neuropsychological and clinical issues, and these studies were separately conducted either on Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN).In this study, three groups of AN, BN and matched controls were administered the Trail Making Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and the Hayling Sentence Completion Test, in addition to personality and clinical assessments (Temperament and Character Inventory, SCL-90-R, EDI-2).Results from AN indicated a relationship between cognitive rigidity and fixed psychological traits. Conversely, BN showed broader correlations among slowness, inhibition, and psychopathology-state indexes, confirming the clear relation published in the literature.We also hypothesize that task peculiar characteristics can affect high-order attentional activities in Eating Disorders. In fact, these patients do not differ from controls when the examiner provides overt instruction and run-in examples, but they can find serious difficulties when the correct rule is to be derived and modified from feedbacks during the test, as in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Perfectionist stable traits support this hypothesis, especially in AN, as excessive cognitive control can either improve or damage set-shifting and decision-making procedures.

► Subjects with AN showed a poor sensitivity to the feedback received from the examiner.
► Subjects with BN had worse results on cognitive strategies.
► Perfectionism and novelty-seeking can limit the adoption of good strategies.
► Excessive cognitive control can either improve or damage decision-making.