Reshaping restriction: virtual embodiment modulates eating biases in anorexia nervosa
M Dimakopoulou, T Ciorli, M Pyasik, M Da Col, F Boggio, C Andriulli, F Bevione, M Romanisio, M Martini, M Guerraz, G Abbate-Daga, L Pia · 2026
Read Reshaping restriction: virtual embodiment modulates eating biases in anorexia nervosa by M Dimakopoulou, T Ciorli, M Pyasik, M Da Col, F Boggio, C Andriulli, F Bevione, M Romanisio, M Martini, M Guerraz, G Abbate-Daga, L Pia (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13392423.txt.
Description
Dimakopoulou and colleagues test whether virtual reality can soften food avoidance in anorexia nervosa, in 2026 neuroscience research. Women with anorexia, 29 patients, and 31 controls completed sessions: a baseline plus illusion sessions in VR where they embodied avatars slimmer or larger. Each session measured responses to food images in a binocular rivalry task, and approach-avoidance behavior toward high- and low-calorie foods. It measured body-size guesses and questionnaires.
At the start, patients showed salience of, and stronger avoidance toward, high-calorie foods than controls, matching the disorder's pattern. Embodying a larger avatar attenuated that bias in patients, while controls shifted the reverse way under the same trick. The manipulation transiently rewired implicit food biases in opposite directions depending on group. Dimakopoulou suggests body-illusion therapy might loosen the automatic bias that sustains it, a possible adjunct to treatment worth testing.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | M Dimakopoulou, T Ciorli, M Pyasik, M Da Col, F Boggio, C Andriulli, F Bevione, M Romanisio, M Martini, M Guerraz, G Abbate-Daga, L Pia |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 53 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |