Affective Responses in Different Stages of Anorexia Nervosa: Results from a Startle-reflex Paradigm.

Objective: There is an evolving debate about pathological affective responses in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). We examined startle responses in different stages of AN.

Methods: We applied a startle reflex paradigm with standardized visual stimuli (International Affective Pictures System; food and body pictures) in 64 female participants (17 acute AN, 16 chronically ill AN, 15 long-term recovered AN, 16 healthy controls). We measured subjective ratings of valence and anxiety, and electromyographic startle responses.

Results: Participants with acute and chronic AN displayed the same subjective valence ratings to affective stimuli but showed less startle reactivity to affective pictures (F(6, 116) = 2.75, p = .02) compared with healthy control. Food pictures were rated as more unpleasant and higher anxiety provoking by currently ill AN (F(3, 59) = 3.32, p=.03).

Discussion: We observed diverging subjective and psychophysiological reactions in different stages of AN. Psychophysiological methods can help to attain a more comprehensive understanding of biological alterations in the long-term course of AN. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.