Linking maladaptive food avoidance and anorexia nervosa symptoms: An analogue study

Previous research has shown that food avoidance can be learned via classical and operant conditioning. This leads to the question of whether learning deficits could contribute to the harmful food avoidance seen in individuals with anorexia nervosa. Accordingly, we tested whether healthy women with increased levels of anorexia nervosa symptoms and characteristics show learning abnormalities related to the acquisition and extinction of food avoidance behaviors. Data from a previous experiment (Spix, Schutzeichel, et al., 2023) was used and supplemented with new questionnaire data. Based on participants' levels of anorexia nervosa symptoms and characteristics, we subtyped an analogue and a healthy group and compared their performance on a food avoidance learning task. We assessed the frequency of avoidance responses, as well as relief, frustration, eating desires, fear, and liking for the conditioned stimulus (CS) associated with food intake. The analogue group showed more unnecessary food avoidance behaviors, a greater relief about the omission of the food, and a faster and more persistent reduction in eating desires than the healthy group. There were no differences between groups in frustration, fear, and liking. Learning abnormalities might contribute to the development and maintenance of food avoidance in individuals with anorexia nervosa.