Neural Correlates of Autistic Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN · Jul 24, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is looking at how the brains of autistic adults with anorexia nervosa (an eating disorder) might be different from those of autistic adults without anorexia. Researchers want to understand if autistic people who have anorexia also tend to “mask” their autism more—that is, if they try harder to hide their autistic traits to fit in better with others—and how this relates to changes in brain structure. By comparing these two groups, the study hopes to learn more about the connections between autism, eating difficulties, and brain differences.

Adults aged 25 to 45 who are autistic may be eligible to take part. To join, participants must be able to read and answer questions in English, give their consent, and be willing to have an MRI brain scan at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Those in the anorexia group must have a diagnosis of anorexia or a low body weight, while those in the control group should have no history of eating disorders. Participants will complete questionnaires about their eating habits, autism traits, masking behaviors, and mental health, and then have an MRI scan to look at their brain. This study does not include people with other eating disorders, brain injuries, or intellectual disabilities, and it is currently recruiting volunteers.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• Healthy Autistic Individuals (Autistic Controls) must:
• • Be aged 25-45 years
• • Be Autistic (clinically diagnosed and/or have an Autism Quotient (AQ-10) score of ≥6)
• • Be able to provide informed consent for the study
• • Be able to read, understand and respond to questionnaires in English
• • Have no history of an eating disorder
• • Willing to have an MRI scan in Aberdeen
• Autistic Individuals with anorexia nervosa must:
• • Be aged 25-45 years
• • Be Autistic (clinically diagnosed and/or have an AQ-10 score of ≥6)
• • Be able to provide informed consent to the study
• • Be able to read, understand and respond to questionnaires in English
• • Have a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa or a body mass index of \<18.5
• • Willing to have an MRI scan in Aberdeen
• Exclusion Criteria:
• Individuals are not eligible for the study if they:
• • Are aged \<25 or \>45 years
• • Are not Autistic or not clinically diagnosed as Autistic and have an AQ-10 score of \<6
• • Are diagnosed with an eating disorder other than anorexia nervosa
• • Have a history of brain injury (e.g., stroke)
• • Be unable to provide informed consent for the study
• • Have contraindications to MRI scanning, such has implantable cardiac devices
• • Are unable to read, understand and respond to questionnaires in English
• • As participants will need to consent to the study and complete questionnaires by themselves, individuals with intellectual disability will be excluded from this study