Common and distinct volumetric alterations of hypothalamic subunits between female patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

Motivation: The structural alterations of hypothalamic subunits involved in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) remain undetermined. Goal(s): To investigate the common and distinct alterations in the volumes and structural covariance networks (SCN) of hypothalamic subunits between AN and BN. Approach: The MRI data were subsegmented and underwent multistage quality control using FreeSurfer, in conjunction with MANCOVA and graph theory analysis. Results: Larger volumes in the right a-iHyp were found in BN, smaller volumes in the left infTub and right supTub were found in AN, compared to HCs. Global efficacy and characteristic path length altered in AN relative to BN. Impact: We depict distinct alterations of hypothalamic subunits involved in the pathophysiology of AN and BN. These findings provide novel insight into the role of the hypothalamus in both AN and BN.