Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Presentation and Neurobiology of Anhedonia in Mood Disorders: Commonalities and Distinctions

  • Mood Disorders (E Baca-Garcia, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To focus on the clinical and behavioral presentation of anhedonia in mood disorders, as well as the differences and commonalities in the underlying neurocircuitry.

Recent Findings

Evidence suggests that depression is characterized by hypofunction of the reward system, while bipolar disorder manifests dysregulation of the behavioral activation system that increases goal-directed reward behavior. Importantly, strong evidence does not exist to suggest significant differences in anhedonia severity between depressed unipolar and bipolar patients, suggesting that there are more nuanced fluctuations in reward processing deficits in bipolar patients depending on their state. Both euthymic unipolar and bipolar patients frequently report residual reward dysfunction, which highlights the potential of reward processing deficits that give rise to the clinical symptom of anhedonia to be trait factors of mood disorders; however, the possibility that therapies are not adequately treating anhedonia could also explain the presence of residual symptoms.

Summary

Reward processing represents a potential diagnostic and treatment marker for mood disorders. Further research should systematically explore the facets of reward processing in at-risk, affected, and remitted patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

  1. Whitton AE, Treadway MT, Pizzagalli DA. Reward processing dysfunction in major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2015;28(1):7–12. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000122.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Barch DM, Treadway MT, Schoen N. Effort, anhedonia, and function in schizophrenia: reduced effort allocation predicts amotivation and functional impairment. J Abnorm Psychol. 2014;123(2):387–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036299.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Dichter GS, Kozink RV, McClernon FJ, Smoski MJ. Remitted major depression is characterized by reward network hyperactivation during reward anticipation and hypoactivation during reward outcomes. J Affect Disord. 2012;136(3):1126–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.09.048.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ribot T. La psychologie des sentiment. Paris: Felix Alcan; 1896.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Der-Avakian A, Markou A. The neurobiology of anhedonia and other reward-related deficits. Trends Neurosci. 2012;35(1):68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.005.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Rizvi SJ, Quilty LC, Sproule BA, Cyriac A, Bagby RM, Kennedy SH. Development and validation of the dimensional anhedonia rating scale (DARS) in a community sample and individuals with major depression. Psychiatry Res. 2015;229(1-2):109–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.07.062.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Thomsen KR, Whybrow PC, Kringelbach ML. Reconceptualizing anhedonia: novel perspectives on balancing the pleasure networks in the human brain. Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Insel T, Cuthbert B, Garvey M, Heinssen R, Pine DS, Quinn K, et al. Research domain criteria (RDoC): toward a new classification framework for research on mental disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167(7):748–51. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.09091379.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. • Nusslock R, Alloy LB. Reward processing and mood-related symptoms: an RDoC and translational neuroscience perspective. J Affect Disord. 2017;216:3–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.001. Taking an RDoC approach, this paper reviews hyposensitivity and hypersensitivity of the reward system related to mood states.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Gao K, Sweet J, Su M, Calabrese JR. Depression severity and quality of life of qualified and unqualified patients with a mood disorder for a research study targeting anhedonia in a clinical sample. Asian J Psychiatr. 2017;27:40–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2017.02.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Verdolini N, Dean J, Elisei S, Quartesan R, Zaman R, Agius M. Bipolar disorder: the importance of clinical assessment in identifying prognostic factors—an audit. Part 2: mixed state features and rapid cycling. Psychiatr Danub. 2014;26(Suppl 1):301–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Mula M, Pini S, Calugi S, Preve M, Masini M, Giovannini I, et al. Distinguishing affective depersonalization from anhedonia in major depression and bipolar disorder. Compr Psychiatry. 2010;51(2):187–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.03.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Souery D, Zaninotto L, Calati R, Linotte S, Mendlewicz J, Sentissi O, et al. Depression across mood disorders: review and analysis in a clinical sample. Compr Psychiatry. 2012;53(1):24–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2011.01.010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Wozniak J, Spencer T, Biederman J, Kwon A, Monuteaux M, Rettew J, et al. The clinical characteristics of unipolar vs. bipolar major depression in ADHD youth. J Affect Disord. 2004;82(Suppl 1):S59–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2004.05.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Di Nicola M, De Risio L, Battaglia C, Camardese G, Tedeschi D, Mazza M, et al. Reduced hedonic capacity in euthymic bipolar subjects: a trait-like feature? J Affect Disord. 2013;147(1-3):446–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.10.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. • Redlich R, Dohm K, Grotegerd D, Opel N, Zwitserlood P, Heindel W, et al. Reward processing in unipolar and bipolar depression: a functional MRI study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015;40(11):2623–31. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.110. One of the first papers to compare neurocircuitry of reward processing between unipolar and bipolar disorder patients.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Linke J, Sönnekes C, Wessa M. Sensitivity to positive and negative feedback in euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder: the last episode makes the difference. Bipolar Disord. 2011;13(7-8):638–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2011.00956.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Clark DC, Fawcett J, Salazar-Grueso E, Fawcett E. Seven-month clinical outcome of anhedonic and normally hedonic depressed inpatients. Am J Psychiatry. 1984;141(10):1216–20. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.141.10.1216.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Schrader GD. Does anhedonia correlate with depression severity in chronic depression? Compr Psychiatry. 1997;38(5):260–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-440X(97)90057-2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Dempsey RC, Gooding PA, Jones SH. A prospective study of bipolar disorder vulnerability in relation to behavioural activation, behavioural inhibition and dysregulation of the behavioural activation system. Eur Psychiatry. 2017;44:24–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.03.005.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Quilty LC, Mackew L, Bagby RM. Distinct profiles of behavioral inhibition and activation system sensitivity in unipolar vs. bipolar mood disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2014;219(1):228–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2014.05.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Alloy LB, Abramson LY. The role of the behavioral approach system (BAS) in bipolar spectrum disorders. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2010;19(3):189–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410370292.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Nusslock R, Almeida JR, Forbes EE, Versace A, Frank E, LaBarbara EJ, et al. Waiting to win: elevated striatal and orbitofrontal cortical activity during reward anticipation in euthymic bipolar disorder adults. Bipolar Disord. 2012;14(3):249–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.01012.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Uher R, Perlis RH, Henigsberg N, Zobel A, Rietschel M, Mors O, et al. Depression symptom dimensions as predictors of antidepressant treatment outcome: replicable evidence for interest-activity symptoms. Psychol Med. 2012;42(05):967–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291711001905.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. McMakin DL, Olino TM, Porta G, Dietz LJ, Emslie G, Clarke G, et al. Anhedonia predicts poorer recovery among youth with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment–resistant depression. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012;51(4):404–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.01.011.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Rawal A, Collishaw S, Thapar A, Rice R. ‘The risks of playing it safe’: a prospective longitudinal study of response to reward in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Psychol Med. 2013;43(01):27–38. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291712001158.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Kring AM, Barch DM. The motivation and pleasure dimension of negative symptoms: neural substrates and behavioral outputs. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014;24(5):725–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.06.007.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Rizvi SJ, Pizzagalli DA, Sproule BA, Kennedy SH. Assessing anhedonia in depression: potentials and pitfalls. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016;65:21–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.004.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Treadway MT, Zald DH. Reconsidering anhedonia in depression: lessons from translational neuroscience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35(3):537–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.06.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Sharma A, Wolf DH, Ciric R, Kable JW, Moore TM, Vandekar SN, et al. Common dimensional reward deficits across mood and psychotic disorders: a connectome-wide association study. Am J Psychiatr. 2017;174(7):657–66. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16070774.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Chau DT, Roth RM, Green AI. The neural circuitry of reward and its relevance to psychiatric disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2004;6(5):391–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-004-0026-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Gorwood P. Neurobiological mechanisms of anhedonia. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2008;10(3):291–9.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Misaki M, Suzuki H, Savitz J, Drevets WC, Bodurka J. Individual variations in nucleus accumbens responses associated with major depressive disorder symptoms. Sci Rep. 2016;6:1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Schiller CE, Minkel J, Smoski MJ, Dichter GS. Remitted major depression is characterized by reduced prefrontal cortex reactivity to reward loss. J Affect Disord. 2013;151(2):756–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.06.016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Ubl B, Kuehner C, Kirsch P, Ruttorf M, Diener C, Flor H. Altered neural reward and loss processing and prediction error signalling in depression. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015;10(8):1102–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu158.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Sherdell L, Waugh CE, Gotlib IH. Anticipatory pleasure predicts motivation for reward in major depression. J Abnorm Psychol. 2012;121(1):51–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024945.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Smoski MJ, Lynch TR, Rosenthal MZ, Cheavens JS, Chapman AL, Krishnan RR. Decision-making and risk aversion among depressive adults. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2008;39(4):567–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.01.004.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Gradin VB, Kumar P, Waiter G, Ahearn T, Stickle C, Milders M, et al. Expected value and prediction error abnormalities in depression and schizophrenia. Brain. 2011;134(6):1751–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr059.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Whitton AE, Kakani P, Foti D, Van’t Veer A, Haile A, Crowley DJ, et al. Blunted neural responses to reward in remitted major depression: a high-density event-related potential study. Biol Psychiatry. 2016;1(1):87–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2015.09.007.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Pizzagalli DA, Holmes AJ, Dillon DG, Goetz EL, Birk JL, Bogdan R, et al. Reduced caudate and nucleus accumbens response to rewards in unmedicated individuals with major depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatr. 2009;166(6):702–10. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08081201.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Rothkirch M, Tonn J, Köhler S, Sterzer P. Neural mechanisms of reinforcement learning in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder. Brain. 2017;140(4):1147–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awx025.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Young CB, Chen T, Nusslock R, Keller J, Schatzberg AF, Menon V. Anhedonia and general distress show dissociable ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity in major depressive disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2016;6:1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Adida M, Jollant F, Clark L, Besnier N, Guillaume S, Kaladjian A, et al. Trait-related decision-making impairment in the three phases of bipolar disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2011;70(4):357–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.01.018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Nusslock R, Young CB, Damme KS. Elevated reward-related neural activation as a unique biological marker of bipolar disorder: assessment and treatment implications. Behav Res Ther. 2014;62:74–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.08.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Abler B, Greenhouse I, Ongur D, Walter H, Heckers S. Abnormal reward system activation in mania. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008;33(9):2217–27. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1301620.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Ossewaarde L, Verkes RJ, Hermans EJ, Kooijman SC, Urner M, Tendolkar I, et al. Two-week administration of the combined serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine augments functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits. Biol Psychiatry. 2011;70(6):568–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.03.041.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Stoy M, Schlagenhauf F, Sterzer P, Bermpohl F, Hägele C, Suchotzki K, et al. Hyporeactivity of ventral striatum towards incentive stimuli in unmedicated depressed patients normalizes after treatment with escitalopram. J Psychopharmacol. 2012;26(5):677–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881111416686.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Ubl B, Kuehner C, Kirsch P, Ruttorf M, Flor H, Diener C. Neural reward processing in individuals remitted from major depression. Psychol Med. 2015a;45(16):3549–58. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715001452.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Capuron L, Pagnoni G, Drake DF, Woolwine BJ, Spivey JR, Crowe RJ, et al. Dopaminergic mechanisms of reduced basal ganglia responses to hedonic reward during interferon alfa administration. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012;69(10):1044–53. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2094.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Bogdan R, Nikolova YS, Pizzagalli DA. Neurogenetics of depression: a focus on reward processing and stress sensitivity. Neurobiol Dis. 2013;52:12–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2012.05.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Kumar P, Berghorst LH, Nickerson LD, Dutra SJ, Goer FK, Greve DN, et al. Differential effects of acute stress on anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing. Neuroscience. 2014;266:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.01.058.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Liu X, Hairston J, Schrier M, Fan J. Common and distinct networks underlying reward valence and processing stages: a meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35(5):1219–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.12.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Kollmann B, Scholz V, Linke J, Kirsch P, Wessa M. Reward anticipation revisited—evidence from an fMRI study in euthymic bipolar I patients and healthy first-degree relatives. J Affect Disord. 2017;219:178–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.044.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Dutra SJ, Cunningham WA, Kober H, Gruber J. Elevated striatal reactivity across monetary and social rewards in bipolar I disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 2015;124(4):890–904. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000092.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Berghorst LH, Kumar P, Greve DN, Deckersbach T, Ongur D, Dutra SJ, et al. Stress and reward processing in bipolar disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Bipolar Disord. 2016;18(7):602–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.12444.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Schreiter S, Spengler S, Willert A, Mohnke S, Herold D, Erk S, et al. Neural alterations of fronto-striatal circuitry during reward anticipation in euthymic bipolar disorder. Psychol Med. 2016;46(15):3187–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716001963.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Dutra SJ, Man V, Kober H, Cunningham WA, Gruber J. Disrupted cortico-limbic connectivity during reward processing in remitted bipolar I disorder. Bipolar Disord. 2017;19(8):661–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.12560.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Bermpohl F, Kahnt T, Dalanay U, Hägele C, Sajonz B, Wegner T, et al. Altered representation of expected value in the orbitofrontal cortex in mania. Hum Brain Mapp. 2010;31(7):958–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.20909.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. • Satterthwaite TD, Kable JW, Vandekar L, Katchmar N, Bassett DS, Baldassano CF, et al. Common and dissociable dysfunction of the reward system in bipolar and unipolar depression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015;40(9):2258–68. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.75. Data showed differences in connectivity among bipolar and unipolar patients in how they process reward, which may also provide a differential feature of mania risk.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Yip SW, Worhunsky PD, Rogers RD, Goodwin GM. Hypoactivation of the ventral and dorsal striatum during reward and loss anticipation in antipsychotic and mood stabilizer-naive bipolar disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015;40(3):658–66. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.215.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Caseras X, Lawrence NS, Murphy K, Wise RG, Phillips ML. Ventral striatum activity in response to reward: differences between bipolar I and II disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2013;170(5):533–41. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12020169.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Manelis A, Almeida JR, Stiffler R, Lockovich JC, Aslam HA, Phillips ML. Anticipation-related brain connectivity in bipolar and unipolar depression: a graph theory approach. Brain. 2016a;139(Pt 9):2554–66. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aww157.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  63. Schultz W. Updating dopamine reward signals. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013;23(2):229–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2012.11.012.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Kumar P, Waiter G, Ahearn T, Milders M, Reid I, Steele JD. Abnormal temporal difference reward-learning signals in major depression. Brain. 2008;131(8):2084–93. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awn136.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. O'Sullivan N, Szczepanowski R, El-Deredy W, Mason L, Bentall RP. fMRI evidence of a relationship between hypomania and both increased goal-sensitivity and positive outcome-expectancy bias. Neuropsychologia. 2011;49(10):2825–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Must A, Szabó Z, Bódi N, Szász A, Janka Z, Kéri S. Sensitivity to reward and punishment and the prefrontal cortex in major depression. J Affect Disord. 2006;90(2-3):209–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2005.12.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Must A, Horvath S, Nemeth VL, Janka Z. The Iowa gambling task in depression—what have we learned about sub-optimal decision-making strategies? Front Psychol. 2013;732:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Cella M, Dymond S, Cooper A. Impaired flexible decision-making in major depressive disorder. J Affect Disord. 2010;124(1-2):207–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2009.11.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Elliott R, Sahakian BJ, Herrod JJ, Robbins TW, Paykel ES. Abnormal response to negative feedback in unipolar depression: evidence for a diagnosis specific impairment. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997;63(1):74–82. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.63.1.74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Murphy FC, Michael A, Robbins TW, Sahakian BJ. Neuropsychological impairment in patients with major depressive disorder: the effects of feedback on task performance. Psychol Med. 2003;33(3):455–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702007018.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Hasler G, Mondillo K, Drevets WC, Blair JR. Impairments of probabilistic response reversal and passive avoidance following catecholamine depletion. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009;34(13):2691–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2009.95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  72. Manelis A, Ladouceur CD, Graur S, Monk K, Bonar LK, Hickey MB, et al. Altered functioning of reward circuitry in youth offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Psychol Med. 2016;46(1):197–208. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171500166X.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. • Singh MK, Kelley RG, Howe ME, Reiss AL, Gotlib IH, Chang KD. Reward processing in healthy offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(10):1148–56. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.1031. Study demonstrated reward system deficits in unaffected youth of bipolar parents compared to low risk youth, suggesting this to be a vulnerability trait.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Urošević S, Luciana M, Jensen JB, Youngstrom EA, Thomas KM. Age associations with neural processing of reward anticipation in adolescents with bipolar disorders. Neuroimage Clin. 2016;11:476–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2016.03.013.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  75. Kujawa A, Proudfit GH, Klein DN. Neural reactivity to rewards and losses in offspring of mothers and fathers with histories of depressive and anxiety disorders. J Abnorm Psychol. 2014;123(2):287–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036285.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  76. Cuthbert BN, Insel TR. Toward the future of psychiatric diagnosis: the seven pillars of RDoC. BMC Med. 2013;11(1):126. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-126.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  77. Netter P, Hennig J. Discriminating depression, physical and social anhedonia by neurotransmitter related challenge tests. Psychology. 2016;7(03):275–85. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2016.73030.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Deutschenbaur L, Beck J, Kiyhankhadiv A, Mühlhauser M, Borgwardt S, Walter M, et al. Role of calcium, glutamate and NMDA in major depression and therapeutic application. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2016;64:325–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.02.015.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  79. Raison CL, Rutherford RE, Woolwine BJ, Shuo C, Schettler P, Drake DF, et al. A randomized controlled trial of the tumor necrosis factor antagonist infliximab for treatment-resistant depression: the role of baseline inflammatory biomarkers. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(1):31–41. https://doi.org/10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  80. van Zessen R, Phillips JL, Budygin EA, Stuber GD. Activation of VTA GABA neurons disrupts reward consumption. Neuron. 2012;73(6):1184–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2012.02.016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  81. Salamone JD, Correa M, Yohn S, Lopez Cruz L, San Miguel N, Alatorre L. The pharmacology of effort-related choice behavior: dopamine, depression, and individual differences. Behav Process. 2016;127:3–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2016.02.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. Linnet J. Neurobiological underpinnings of reward anticipation and outcome evaluation in gambling disorder. Front Behav Neurosci. 2014;8:100.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  83. Barbano MF, Cador M. Opioids for hedonic experience and dopamine to get ready for it. Psychopharmacology. 2007;191(3):497–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0521-1.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  84. Carlezon WA, Krystal AD. Kappa-opioid antagonists for psychiatric disorders: from bench to clinical trials. Depress Anxiety. 2016;33(10):895–906. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22500.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Unit, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, 193 Yonge St, 6-009, Toronto, ON, M5B 1M8, Canada

    Sakina J. Rizvi, Clare Lambert & Sidney Kennedy

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Sakina J. Rizvi & Sidney Kennedy

Authors
  1. Sakina J. Rizvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Clare Lambert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sidney Kennedy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sakina J. Rizvi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Clare Lambert declares no conflict of interest.

Sakina J. Rizvi has received grant funding from Pfizer Canada.

Sidney Kennedy has received grants from Janssen, Abott, the Ontario Brain Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Ontario Research Fund, grants and personal fees from Pfizer, and personal fees from Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lundbeck, Lundbeck Institute, Otsuka, Servier, Sunovion, and Xian-Janssen.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Mood Disorders

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rizvi, S.J., Lambert, C. & Kennedy, S. Presentation and Neurobiology of Anhedonia in Mood Disorders: Commonalities and Distinctions. Curr Psychiatry Rep 20, 13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0877-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0877-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation