Skip to main content

Associations between neuropsychological performance and appetite-regulating hormones in anorexia nervosa and healthy controls: Ghrelin's putative role as a mediator of decision-making.

Author
Abstract
:

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe eating disorder accompanied by alterations in endocrinological circuits and deficits in neuropsychological performance. In this study, a series of appetite-regulating hormones (ghrelin, leptin, cholecystokinin, PYY, adiponectin, and visfatin) were measured under fasting conditions in female patients with AN and female healthy controls. All of the participants also underwent a battery of neuropsychological assessment [namely the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT)]. As the main finding, we found that higher ghrelin levels predict better performance in the IGT. Ghrelin may be a putative mediator of decision-making, a finding that has not been described so far. The role of ghrelin in decision-making can only be described as speculative, as there are hardly any additional evidence-based data published up to date. Further studies are warranted.

Year of Publication
:
2019
Journal
:
Molecular and cellular endocrinology
Volume
:
497
Number of Pages
:
110441
Date Published
:
2019
ISSN Number
:
0303-7207
URL
:
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0303-7207(19)30135-2
DOI
:
10.1016/j.mce.2019.04.021
Short Title
:
Mol Cell Endocrinol
Download citation