Central Coherence, Visuoconstruction and Visual Memory in Patients with Eating Disorders as Measured by Different Scoring Methods of the Rey Complex Figure Test

Siri Weider; Marit Saebø Indredavik; Stian Lydersen; Knut Hestad

doi:10.1002/erv.2385

Central Coherence, Visuoconstruction and Visual Memory in Patients with Eating Disorders as Measured by Different Scoring Methods of the Rey Complex Figure Test

Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2016 Mar;24(2):106-13. doi: 10.1002/erv.2385. Epub 2015 Jul 2.

Authors

Siri Weider^{1

2}, Marit Saebø Indredavik^{3

4}, Stian Lydersen³, Knut Hestad^{1

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
² Specialised Unit for Eating Disorder Patients, Department of Psychiatry, Levanger Hospital, Health Trust Nord-Trøndelag, Levanger, Norway.
³ Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁵ Division of Mental Health, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway.
⁶ Hedmark University College, Elverum, Norway.

PMID: 26136360
DOI: 10.1002/erv.2385

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine the performance of eating disorder (ED) patients on the Rey Complex Figure Test and to investigate the validity of the Q-score as a new method for measuring central coherence (CC).

Method: Forty-one patients with anorexia nervosa, 40 patients with bulimia nervosa and 40 healthy controls completed the Rey Complex Figure Test, which was scored both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Results: Both ED groups scored lower than the healthy controls on copy, recall and the Q-score. For the anorexia nervosa group, performance on the Central Coherence Index was associated with the nadir body mass index. Performance on the recall measures was independently associated with the nadir body mass index and depressive symptoms for the bulimia nervosa group. There was a strong correlation between the Q-score and the Central Coherence Index (r = 0.77).

Discussion: The study reveals different levels of CC and suggests that the Q-score might be an applicable method for measuring CC in ED patients.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; central coherence; neuropsychology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anorexia Nervosa / psychology*
Body Mass Index
Bulimia Nervosa / psychology*
Case-Control Studies
Depression
Female
Humans
Male
Memory*
Mental Recall / physiology
Neuropsychological Tests*
Reproducibility of Results
Sense of Coherence*
Visual Perception*