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Anhedonia: A Comprehensive Handbook Volume I pp 331–341Cite as

Brain Imaging Correlates of Anhedonia

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Abstract

In this chapter we will review the structural and functional neuroimaging correlates of anhedonia.

Regions associated with anhedonia range from the reward processing circuits of the medial orbitofrontal cortex in healthy subjects to the fear processing neurocircuitry of amygdala in patients with schizophrenia. The emerging picture of the hedonic brain imaging literature is one of a hedonic continuum, with a remarkable continuity between healthy and across affected individuals, suggesting that anhedonia might be a useful endophenotype or potential trait marker related to vulnerability to major psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. However, the relatively small number of brain imaging studies to date, lack of precision in the definition of anhedonia, diagnostic heterogeneity of the study populations and heterogeneity of study methods indicate that this remains an incipient field of research. We conclude that the evidence to date about the brain correlates of anhedonia is preliminary and further research is indicated.

“For it is then that we have need of pleasure, when we feel pain owing to the absence of pleasure.” Epicurus (341–270 B.C.)

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

fMRI:

functional MRI

MRS:

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

OFC:

Orbitofrontal cortex

NAc:

Nucleus Accumbens

[vm/dl]PFC:

[ventromedial/dorsolateral] Prefrontal cortex

PET:

Positron Emission Tomography

SN:

Substantia Nigra

VS:

Ventral striatum

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Irvine School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, California, CA, USA

    Adrian Preda M.D.

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  1. Adrian Preda M.D.
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Correspondence to Adrian Preda 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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Preda, A. (2014). Brain Imaging Correlates of Anhedonia. In: Ritsner, M. (eds) Anhedonia: A Comprehensive Handbook Volume I. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8591-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8591-4_14

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