Brain Function in Adolescent Eating Disorders and Healthy Peers

This study of adolescent eating disorders (ED) will examine the association of temperament-based classifications, brain activation during incentive processing, and ED symptoms at time of scan and 1 year later to better understand the neurobiology and symptoms of ED. We will recruit 150 females currently ill with an ED and 50 controls ages 14-17 to investigate how temperaments reflecting greater inhibition, impulsivity, or effortful control correspond to 1) clinical symptoms and 2) the brain's response to anticipation and outcome of salient stimuli, and 3) by collecting follow-up clinical data one year later, identify how temperament-based subtypes predict ED symptom change (e.g., clinical prediction). Data collection will rely on a technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).