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Social cognition is a term that describes the variety of processes and components that help humans interact socially. This project seeks to find out whether the processing of social information and clues about others’ feelings and emotions is affected in adults with anorexia, and when people have recovered from the illness. The research team wants to find out if people with anorexia can recognise or infer complex emotions in other people, and during social interaction.
We are looking for volunteers who currently have anorexia, have had anorexia in the past and also healthy controls (healthy controls must have no history of an eating disorder or have an immediate relative who has suffered from one).
How is the research being undertaken?
In this research, a group of people with anorexia, and a group of people who have recovered from anorexia are being asked to complete tasks designed to measure Social Cognition. Researchers will compare the results of these tests with results of the same tests completed by a group of healthy volunteers, and by a group of people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, recruited through outpatient services run by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The comparison with CFS will allow them to gauge whether any social cognition deficits are unique to anorexia, or reflect more global symptoms of a psychiatric illness with marked physical symptoms.
Who is involved?
Anna Oldershaw is leading the research for her PhD. It is funded by the Psychiatry Research Trust and Research Into Eating Disorders (RIED).
What’s the timescale?
Recruitment for the research will run until the end of 2008 and the project will be completed in 2009.
To find out more
Anna Oldershaw, Section of Eating Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry: Anna.Oldershaw@iop.kcl.ac.uk
