Our results, in conjunction with the published inconsistent findings in single candidate-gene studies, underscore the critical need for larger samples but also additional analytic approaches to detect genotypic differences between individuals with and without AN. In this context, as we better appreciate the nature of diverse individual differences in trait characteristics, cognitions and affective processes, and symptomatic behaviors with broadly defined diagnostics classes, it will be essential for genetic analyses of AN to make better use of empirically derived phenotype selection criteria that integrate neural systems information with these behavioral data.
