Myo-inositol in the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex is Associated with Anxiety-to-Eat and independent of Body Weight in Anorexia Nervosa

Motivation: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a mental and behavioral health condition. Less is known about eating-related anxiety and underlying neural mechanisms in AN. Goal(s): We sought to characterize anxiety-to-eat in AN and examine the neurometabolic profile within the dACC using edited MRS. Approach: Sixteen healthy women and 16 female AN patients were recruited. Edited MRS data were collected to measure 9 significant metabolites in the brain. Results: Myo-inositol (mI) was lower in the dACC in AN relative to HC, and mI levels negatively predicted anxiety to eat high energy density foods only in the AN group. Impact: Our findings provide new insight into the clinically challenging feature of eating-related anxiety in AN, and indicate mI levels in the dACC could serve as a novel biomarker of illness severity or potential therapeutic target in individuals vulnerable to AN.