New Study – Body Dysmorphia Due to Visual Processing Abnormality

From the study abstract published in the Archives of General Psychiatry:

Results: Subjects with BDD showed relative hyperactivity in the left orbitofrontal cortex and bilateral head of the caudate for the unaltered own-face vs familiar-face condition. They showed relative hypoactivity in the left occipital cortex for the low spatial frequency faces. Differences in activity in frontostriatal systems but not visual cortex covaried with aversiveness ratings of the faces. Severity of BDD symptoms correlated with activity in frontostriatal systems and visual cortex.

Conclusions: These results suggest abnormalities in visual processing and frontostriatal systems in BDD. Hypoactivation in the occipital cortex for low spatial frequency faces may indicate either primary visual system abnormalities for configural face elements or top-down modulation of visual processing. Frontostriatal hyperactivity may be associated both with aversion and with symptoms of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

Read the full abstract — Abnormalities of Visual Processing and Frontostriatal Systems in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphia is a problem for a few patients that I have seen with balding. At times I make this diagnosis so I found this particular study very interesting. CNN also just published an article based on the same study here, which might be a little easier to digest than the study abstract.