Changes in cue reactivity following treatment for bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE

To examine changes in cue reactivity following cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa and to evaluate whether changes are associated with treatment modality or treatment outcome.

METHOD: Subjects were 135 women (17-45 years old) with a current, primary diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. They were participants in a randomized clinical trial examining the additive efficacy of exposure and nonexposure-based behavior therapy to a core of CBT. Physiological, self-report, and behavioral measures of cue reactivity to individualized high-risk binge foods were obtained at pretreatment and posttreatment. Primary, secondary, and tertiary outcome measures are reported for posttreatment.

RESULTS

Bulimic patients experienced significant changes in cue reactivity following treatment. With the exception of salivary reactivity, patients experienced less reactivity at posttreatment. Changes in cue reactivity were not related to treatment modality, but were related to positive treatment outcome for self-report measures of cue reactivity.

DISCUSSION: Favorable treatment outcome among bulimic women is associated with low cue reactivity on self-report measures at posttreatment.