Introduction

Patients with eating disorders (ED) show several alterations in three main features or endophenotypes: central coherence, tasks based on changing criteria and impulse control according to different neuropsychological and neuroimaging evaluation techniques. The objective of this work is to provide descriptive empirical evidence about these possible alterations and their relationship with emotional, daily functioning and eating behavior variables.

Method

A total of 38 women were compared: 19 with ED and 19 healthy participants. Different techniques were used to assess the speed of processing, memory, attention, impulsivity and emotional state.

Results

Differences in the results of the most of neuropsychological tests used were not significant except in the case of symbol search and in the immediate recall of the Rivermead Memory Test. The group with ED showed moderate depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

The similar performance of the ED group respecting the neuropsychological tests could be explained by a style of information processing based on detail and without changing criteria. Depressive symptoms appear to be a vulnerability factor that correlates with the course of the disorder. Neuropsychological intervention in ED would provide new treatment techniques in a complementary way to those already applied; it would favor a more dimensional approach by bringing new therapeutic targets to light, and the comorbidity of these disorders would also be treated by acting on common factors. Consequently, new lines of applied neuropsychology research are suggested.

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