BDNF and eating disorder: While there will always be questions about the extent to which a mouse model can fully capture a disorder as complex as AN, several key aspects of self-imposed AEs in our model accurately reflect the conditions thought to promote eating disorders: (1) interactions between early-life stress and the BDNF-Val66Met genotype increase susceptibility; (2) onset is often preceded by dieting; and (3) peak incidence in adolescence.