Neuropsychological profile in young girls at high risk of developing anorexia nervosa

Objective: Previous research has shown anorexia nervosa (AN) to be associated with a specific neuropsychological profile, including set-shifting and central coherence deviances. A similar profile has been shown in adult unaffected relatives. The aim of this study was to examine whether poor set-shifting and central coherence abilities could be detected in children at high risk of developing AN.

Method: Twenty-eight biological healthy daughters of women with previous or current AN and 42 biological daughters of healthy women, all between six and 12 years of age, participated in the study. A neuropsychological test battery (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Trail Making Test and Rey Complex Figure Test) was used to assess set-shifting and central coherence abilities.

Results: No differences in set-shifting or central coherence performance were detected between the high-risk group and the comparison group. Adjustments for age and intelligence quotient (IQ) did not affect the results.

Conclusions: Our results did not support the notion of preexisting neuropsychological deficits in AN-related cognitive domains among high-risk girls.