Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation
BackgroundGiven the heterogeneity of depression the Research Domain Criteria Framework suggests a dimensional approach to understanding the nature of mental illness. Neural reward function has been suggested as underpinning the symptom of anhedonia in depression but how anhedonia is related to avers...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2019-11-01
|
| Series: | BJPsych Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472419000681/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827995661157531648 |
|---|---|
| author | Ewelina Rzepa Ciara McCabe |
| author_facet | Ewelina Rzepa Ciara McCabe |
| author_sort | Ewelina Rzepa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundGiven the heterogeneity of depression the Research Domain Criteria Framework suggests a dimensional approach to understanding the nature of mental illness. Neural reward function has been suggested as underpinning the symptom of anhedonia in depression but how anhedonia is related to aversion processing is unclear.AimsTo assess how the dimensional experience of anhedonia and depression severity relate to reward and aversion processing in the human brain.MethodWe examined adolescents and emerging adults (n = 84) in the age range 13–21 years. Using a dimensional approach we examined how anhedonia and depression related to physical effort to gain reward or avoid aversion and neural activity during the anticipation, motivation/effort and consummation of reward and aversion.ResultsAs anhedonia increased physical effort to gain reward decreased. As anhedonia increased neural activity decreased during effort to avoid in the precuneus and insula (trend) and increased in the caudate during aversive consummation. We found participants with depression symptoms invested less physical effort than controls and had blunted neural anticipation of reward and aversion in the precuneus, insula and prefrontal cortex and blunted neural activity during effort for reward in the putamen.ConclusionsWe show for the first time that both physical effort and neural activity during effort correlate with anhedonia in adolescents and that amotivation might be a specific deficit of anhedonia irrespective of valence. Future work will assess if these neural mechanisms can be used to predict blunted approach and avoidance in adolescents at risk of depression. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:59:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00eb0c01d139423faf0575c9b20cce1a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:59:50Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-00eb0c01d139423faf0575c9b20cce1a2023-03-09T12:28:54ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242019-11-01510.1192/bjo.2019.68Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummationEwelina Rzepa0Ciara McCabe1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8704-3473School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UKAssociate Professor of Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UKBackgroundGiven the heterogeneity of depression the Research Domain Criteria Framework suggests a dimensional approach to understanding the nature of mental illness. Neural reward function has been suggested as underpinning the symptom of anhedonia in depression but how anhedonia is related to aversion processing is unclear.AimsTo assess how the dimensional experience of anhedonia and depression severity relate to reward and aversion processing in the human brain.MethodWe examined adolescents and emerging adults (n = 84) in the age range 13–21 years. Using a dimensional approach we examined how anhedonia and depression related to physical effort to gain reward or avoid aversion and neural activity during the anticipation, motivation/effort and consummation of reward and aversion.ResultsAs anhedonia increased physical effort to gain reward decreased. As anhedonia increased neural activity decreased during effort to avoid in the precuneus and insula (trend) and increased in the caudate during aversive consummation. We found participants with depression symptoms invested less physical effort than controls and had blunted neural anticipation of reward and aversion in the precuneus, insula and prefrontal cortex and blunted neural activity during effort for reward in the putamen.ConclusionsWe show for the first time that both physical effort and neural activity during effort correlate with anhedonia in adolescents and that amotivation might be a specific deficit of anhedonia irrespective of valence. Future work will assess if these neural mechanisms can be used to predict blunted approach and avoidance in adolescents at risk of depression.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472419000681/type/journal_articleDepressive disordersimagingadolescentrewardanhedonia |
| spellingShingle | Ewelina Rzepa Ciara McCabe Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation BJPsych Open Depressive disorders imaging adolescent reward anhedonia |
| title | Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation |
| title_full | Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation |
| title_fullStr | Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation |
| title_short | Dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain: reward and aversion anticipation, effort and consummation |
| title_sort | dimensional anhedonia and the adolescent brain reward and aversion anticipation effort and consummation |
| topic | Depressive disorders imaging adolescent reward anhedonia |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472419000681/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ewelinarzepa dimensionalanhedoniaandtheadolescentbrainrewardandaversionanticipationeffortandconsummation AT ciaramccabe dimensionalanhedoniaandtheadolescentbrainrewardandaversionanticipationeffortandconsummation |