@misc{10481/71112,
year = {2021},
month = {9},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/71112},
abstract = {Background: Studies on food cue reactivity have documented that altered responses to high-calorie food are associated
with bulimic symptomatology, however, alterations in sexual motivations and behaviors are also associated
clinical features in this population, which justify their inclusion as a research target. Here, we study responses to erotic
cues—alongside food, neutral and aversive cues—to gain an understanding of specificity to food versus a generalized
sensitivity to primary reinforcers.
Methods: We recorded peripheral psychophysiological indices –the startle reflex, zygomaticus, and corrugator
responses—and self-reported emotional responses (valence, arousal, and dominance) in 75 women completing the
Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R). Multiple regression analysis tested whether BULIT-R symptoms were predicted by selfreported
and psychophysiological responses to food versus neutral and erotic versus neutral images.
Results: The results showed that individuals with higher bulimic symptoms were characterized by potentiated eye
blink startle response during binge food (vs. neutral images) and more positive valence ratings during erotic (vs.
neutral) cues.
Conclusions: The results highlight the negative emotional reactivity of individuals with elevated bulimic symptoms
toward food cues, which could be related to the risk of progression to full bulimia nervosa and thereby addressed in
prevention efforts. Results also point to the potential role of reactivity to erotic content, at least on a subjective level.
Theoretical models of eating disorders should widen their conceptual scope to consider reactivity to a broader spectrum
of primary reinforcers, which would have implications for cue exposure-based treatments.
Plain English summary: We examined appetitive and aversive cue responses in college women to investigate how
bulimic symptoms relate to primary reinforcers such as food and erotic images. We recorded peripheral psychophysiological
indices (the startle reflex, zygomaticus, and corrugator responses) and self-reported emotional responses
(valence, arousal, and dominance) in 75 college women that were presented with the Spanish version of the Bulimia
Test-Revised. The results showed that bulimic symptoms increase both psychophysiological defensiveness toward
food cues and subjective pleasure toward erotic cues. The findings suggest a generalized sensitivity to primary reinforcers
in the presence of bulimic symptoms, and emphasize the relevance of adopting a wider framework in research
and treatment on bulimia nervosa.},
organization = {MECD	FPU16/01200},
organization = {Doctoral College "Imaging the Mind" (FWF)	W1233-B},
organization = {Junta de Andalucia
European Commission	P12.SEJ.391},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness/MINECO	PSI2013-43777-P},
publisher = {BMC},
keywords = {Bulimia nervosa},
keywords = {Binge food cues},
keywords = {Erotic cues},
keywords = {Psychophysiology},
keywords = {Valence},
keywords = {Startle reflex},
title = {Emotional reactivity to binge food and erotic cues in women with bulimia nervosa symptoms},
doi = {10.1186/s40337-021-00475-9},
author = {Hernández Rivero, Isabel María and Miccoli, Laura and Fernández-Santaella Santiago, Carmen},
}