Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in Anorexia Nervosa: A pilot study on conditioned learning and instrumental responding to low- and high-calorie food stimuli.

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by persistent restraint eating despite severe negative consequences and often a chronic course of the disease. Recent theoretical models suggest that abnormalities in reward processing and incentive salience of disorder-compatible stimuli as observed in addictive behaviours contribute to the development and maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa. The aim of the present study was to investigate the process of the acquisition of food-related conditioned responses and the influence of conditioned low-calorie and high-calorie food stimuli on instrumental responding for different foods.