Brain-Based Gene Expression of Putative Risk Genes for Anorexia Nervosa in the Human Brain

The etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN) remains elusive. Here, we characterize spatially distributed expression patterns of risk genes for AN in the human brain, developing whole-brain maps of AN gene expression. We found that genes associated with AN are most expressed in the brain, relative to all other body tissue types, and demonstrate gene-specific expression patterns which extend to cerebellar, limbic and basal ganglia structures in particular. fMRI meta-analyses reveal that AN gene expression maps correspond with functional brain activity involved in processing and anticipating appetitive and aversive cues.