Insight is a critical capability in a huge number of day-to-day situations. It is part of a number of capabilities in the brain that have to do with monitoring of ongoing activity in the brain for coherence and accuracy of responses.....
In a study of structural brain connectivity led by the University of Illinois at Chicago and UCLA, those participants with anorexia nervosa who scored lowest on a test measuring their ability to form insight had more connective abnormalities than other patients in brain regions linked to error detection and conflict monitoring as well as self-reflection. Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder shared some of these connective abnormalities. The research was published in the journalPsychological Medicine.
Anorexia nervosa, a potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss, and body dysmorphic disorder, in which individuals are preoccupied with misperceived flaws related to their physical appearance, are related psychiatric disorders that involve distorted body image, obsessive thoughts, and poor insight. The two often occur together, with symptoms usually first appearing during adolescence.
Anorexia nervosa patients who have poor insight may not respond well to treatment because they fail to realize that their behavior and dangerously low weight are damaging to their health, and may even lead to death.