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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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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