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Anhedonia: A Comprehensive Handbook Volume I pp 65–80Cite as

Anhedonia in Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

This chapter is intended to be a review of the multiple aspects of anhedona in children and adolescents. While anhedonia occurs not only in depression but also in schizophrenia and substance use disorders in this review we will focus on anhedonia in depressed youth. Anhedonia, a decreased ability to experience pleasure, is of major public health and clinical importance. It causes a sense of disengagement from the surrounding world and increases the risk of suicide. The prevalence of anhedonia is higher than the prevalence of depression and anhedonia is often underrecognized in youth. This review will address contributing factors in the development of anhedonia in children and adolescents. It will review the relationship between anhedonia and the severity and subtypes of depression in children and adolescents. The stability of anhedonia in relation to the severity of depressive episodes and outcomes of the episodes will be explored. As part of the chapter, the author will provide his own data from original research demonstrating that, at least in some depressed adolescents, anhedonia is a trait rather than a state. The literature on the neural substrate of anhedonia in children and adolescents at different developmental stages will be reviewed. The literature on anhedonia in treatment resistant depression will be explored separately. Finally, the author will review the literature on the somatic treatment approaches to treating anhedonia.

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Abbreviations

DA:

Dopamine

DBS:

Deep brain stimulation

ECT:

Electroconvulsive therapy

MDD:

Major Depressive Disorder

NAcc:

Nucleus accumbens

PFC:

Prefrontal cortex

TARDIA:

Treatment of SSRI-resistant depression in adolescents study

TRD:

Treatment resistant depression

VmPFC:

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex

VTA:

Ventral tegmental area

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Acknowledgments

I wish to express gratitude to Dr. Susan Tross (St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, New York, USA) for very valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Zinoviy Gutkovich M.D.

  2. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Zinoviy Gutkovich M.D.

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Correspondence to Zinoviy Gutkovich M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Haifa & Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Israel Institute of Technology, Hadera, Israel

    Michael S. Ritsner

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Gutkovich, Z. (2014). Anhedonia in Children and Adolescents. In: Ritsner, M. (eds) Anhedonia: A Comprehensive Handbook Volume I. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8591-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8591-4_4

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