What the Eye Sees, the Mind Rejects: Implicit Visual Processing of Food Images in Anorexia Nervosa.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study aims to explore the role of implicit visual processing in reinforcing maladaptive eating behaviours in Anorexia Nervosa-restricting subtype (AN-R), focussing on how high- and low-calorie food stimuli are processed at different stages.

Method

Thirty-two AN-R females and 36 healthy controls participated. Using a combination of novel paradigms in the field, the study employed: Breaking Continuous Flash Suppression (bCFS) for unconscious detection, Binocular Rivalry (BR) for perceptual dominance, and the Food Preference Approach-Avoidance Task (FP-AAT) for subconscious food associations.

Results

AN-R individuals exhibited prolonged perceptual dominance for high-calorie foods but simultaneously displayed stronger implicit avoidance tendencies towards t

SUBMITTER: Dimakopoulou M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12319129 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature