Informatieverwerking bij anorexia nervosa: is ze verstoord?

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a major health problem with an unfavourable prognosis. More than half of AN patients struggle with chronic problems, desspite treatment. The identification of endophenotypes, such as information processing biases, may contribute to a better understanding of the disease and to the development of a tailor-made treatment. AN is found to be associated with a cognitive style characterised by a reduced mental flexibility, a weak central coherence and a selective attentional bias for disease relevant information. These deficits are found in AN and bulimia nervosa, as well as in recovered eating disorder patients and healthy relatives. The management of neuropsychological problems is not the primary focus of most current therapeutic approaches for AN. However, preliminary research findings suggest that purposeful cognitive training may influence the cognitive functioning in AN. In this article, results of neuropsychological research are summarised and implications for clinical practice discussed as well as preliminary findings about the effectiveness of cognitive remediation therapy.