**2. Neural Processing of Food-Related Stimuli**

Food restriction and avoidance are cornerstones of AN, since patients are able to limit food intake even in the presence of prolonged food deprivation. Although the causative mechanisms are not completely understood, a relation to increased inhibition, alterations in the rewarding effect of food and a conditioned relationship between food and aversive emotional states have all been proposed as possible explanations [13,18]. Numerous studies have investigated brain alterations related to the exposure to different types of food stimuli in patients with AN. The experimental paradigms employed in these studies have been broadly classified as using either visual depictions of food or gustatory stimulation.
