Dr. Michelle Sader Hello, my name is Michelle Sader, and I’m a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen. Today, I wanted to provide a quick overview and introduction of a study recently published by myself and colleagues within the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, titled “Neural correlates of children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder symptoms – a large-scale neuroanatomical analysis of a paediatric population.” Avoidant/restrictive food Intake disorder or ARFID is a feeding and eating disorder recently recognised in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or the DSM-5. ARFID is characterised by selective and restrictive eating behaviours to an extent with which one is unable to meet their nutritional needs, and experiences difficulty sustaining relationships or participating in social events. We wanted to understand whether there were structural brain differences in children who show symptoms of ARFID and if there were any differences that might help us better understand ARFID’s unique characteristics. To determine this, we analysed brain scans of 1,977 ten-year-old children from Generation R, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. We compared the brain structures of children with versus without ARFID-like symptoms using a tool called the ARFID Index. An evaluative measure that mirrors diagnostic criteria from the DSM-5 and evaluates picky eating, energy intake, diet quality, child growth, and mental health. Using MRI scans, we measured differences in brain size, surface area and cortical thickness in specific regions. From these 1,977 children, 121 or 6% presented with symptoms of ARFID. These children showed significantly greater cortical thickness in certain areas of the brain compared to those without ARFID symptoms, specifically, in the frontal and superior frontal regions. These brain regions are associated with executive function and are particularly important for anticipation of conflict and inhibition control. Our findings suggest that thickness of the frontal and superior frontal lobes, which are important for planning and decision-making, may serve as brain regions specifically associated with ARFID symptoms. Additionally, altered levels of cortical thickness have been associated with differential development of the brain in youth. Our findings of increased cortical thickness in children with ARFID suggest that these children may experience differences in brain development that are not present in children without ARFID symptoms. These differences may reinforce or be a consequence of avoidant/restrictive eating behaviours. To our knowledge, this is the first structural imaging study associated with ARFID, and findings from this study act as a foundational groundwork for future imaging-related ARFID research. Thank you for taking the time to watch this video abstract. If you’d like to delve further into the study and its research, you will be able to find it online. The study has been published as an open access article in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Thank you.