Neuropsychological Learning Deficits as Predictors of Treatment Outcome in Patients with Eating Disorders

Eating disorders (EDs) are severe psychiatric illnesses that require individualized treatments. Decision-making deficits have been associated with EDs. Decision-making learning deficits denote a lack of strategies to elaborate better decisions that can have an impact on recovery and response to trea...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Lucas, Ignacio; Miranda Olivos, Romina; Testa, Giulia; Granero, Roser; Sánchez, Isabel; Sánchez González, Jéssica; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Fernández Aranda, Fernando
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/179751
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/179751
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Malalties d'origen nutricional
Aprenentatge
Malalties mentals
Learning
Mental illness
Nutritionally induced diseases
Description
Summary:Eating disorders (EDs) are severe psychiatric illnesses that require individualized treatments. Decision-making deficits have been associated with EDs. Decision-making learning deficits denote a lack of strategies to elaborate better decisions that can have an impact on recovery and response to treatment. This study used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to investigate learning differences related to treatment outcome in EDs, comparing between patients with a good and bad treatment outcome and healthy controls. Likewise, the predictive role of impaired learning performance on therapy outcome was explored. Four hundred twenty-four participants (233 ED patients and 191 healthy controls) participated in this study. Decision making was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task before any psychological treatment. All patients received psychological therapy, and treatment outcome was evaluated at discharge. Patients with bad outcome did not show progression in the decision-making task as opposed to those with good outcome and the healthy control sample. Additionally, learning performance in the decision-making task was predictive of their future outcome. The severity of learning deficits in decision making may serve as a predictor of the treatment. These results may provide a starting point of how decision-making learning deficits are operating as dispositional and motivational factors on responsiveness to treatment in EDs.