National Institute of Mental Health 5R01MH132786-04

Dynamic Neural Computations Underlying Cognitive Control in Bulimia Nervosa

The project investigates how cognitive control mechanisms vary between fasted and fed states in women with Bulimia Nervosa, using neuroimaging and behavioral assessments to identify neural and behavioral markers that may inform targeted treatments for binge eating and purging cycles.

Description

This R01 project aims to clarify how cognitive control computations fluctuate across fasted and fed states in Bulimia Nervosa (BN), potentially maintaining the cyclical nature of the disorder. The study combines fMRI, computational modeling, and real-time mobile assessments to examine whether food consumption impairs frontostriatal function and associated control-related updating and effort-valuation processes in BN. The research will compare behavioral and neural responses of women with BN to healthy women during inhibitory control and cognitive effort discounting paradigms in fasted and fed states, and relate these to symptom severity at baseline and follow-up. The project seeks to identify altered control processes as prognostic biomarkers and optimal patient states for control-focused interventions.

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