Imaging mental imagery in anorexia nervosa

Many mental disorders are characterized by intrusions: involuntary thoughts or images about past mishaps (flash backs) or future catastrophes (flash forwards). One such disorder is Anorexia Nervosa. Vividness and adversity of intrusions can be reduced by having patients deliberately retrieve the negative thoughts/images and simultaneously taxing working memory. Little is known about the neurobiological basis of this effect. We will examine which brain regions are implicated in the intrusions Anorexia Nervosa patients, using functional MRI, and how far taxing working memory reduces brain activation in conjunction with intrusion adversity.