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Behaviour Research and Therapy Oct 2023This cluster randomised controlled trial examined the effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training (MT; vs. passive control) to lower anhedonia and... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of universal school-based mindfulness on anhedonia and emotional distress and its underlying mechanisms: A cluster randomised controlled trial via experience sampling in secondary schools.
This cluster randomised controlled trial examined the effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training (MT; vs. passive control) to lower anhedonia and emotional distress among mid-adolescents (15-18 years). It further examined three potential mechanisms: dampening of positive emotions, non-acceptance/suppression of negative emotions, and perceived social pressure not to experience/express negative emotions. Adolescents (n = 136, n = 95) participated in three assessment points (before, after and two/three months after the in-class MT), consisting of Experience Sampling (ES) assessments and self-report questionnaires (SRQs) to corroborate the ES assessments. Analyses were based on general linear modelling and multilevel modelling. Overall, no evidence was found for a significant beneficial and long-lasting impact of the MT on adolescents' mental health. Importantly, some barriers inherently linked to universal MT approaches (low engagement in and mixed attitudes towards the MT) may have tempered the effectiveness of the MT in the current trial. Further research should prioritise overcoming these barriers to optimise programme implementation. Additionally, given the potential complex interplay of moderators at micro- (home practice), meso- (school climate), and macro-level (broader context), research should simultaneously focus on alternative ways of delivering MT at schools to strengthen adolescents' mental health.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Mindfulness; Anhedonia; Ecological Momentary Assessment; Emotions; Schools; Psychological Distress
PubMed: 37797436
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104405 -
PloS One 2023Previously, a study using a sample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)® study from the earlier 1.0 release found differences in several resting state...
BACKGROUND
Previously, a study using a sample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)® study from the earlier 1.0 release found differences in several resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) brain connectivity measures associated with children reporting anhedonia. Here, we aim to reproduce, replicate, and extend the previous findings using data from the later ABCD study 4.0 release, which includes a significantly larger sample.
METHODS
To reproduce and replicate the previous authors' findings, we analyzed data from the ABCD 1.0 release (n = 2437), from an independent subsample from the newer ABCD 4.0 release (excluding individuals from the 1.0 release) (n = 6456), and from the full ABCD 4.0 release sample (n = 8866). Additionally, we assessed whether using a multiple linear regression approach could improve replicability by controlling for the effects of comorbid psychiatric conditions and sociodemographic covariates.
RESULTS
While the previously reported associations were reproducible, effect sizes for most rsfMRI measures were drastically reduced in replication analyses (including for both t-tests and multiple linear regressions) using the ABCD 4.0 (excluding 1.0) sample. However, 2 new rsfMRI measures (the Auditory vs. Right Putamen and the Retrosplenial-Temporal vs. Right-Thalamus-Proper measures) exhibited replicable associations with anhedonia and stable, albeit small, effect sizes across the ABCD samples, even after accounting for sociodemographic covariates and comorbid psychiatric conditions using a multiple linear regression approach.
CONCLUSION
The most statistically significant associations between anhedonia and rsfMRI connectivity measures found in the ABCD 1.0 sample tended to be non-replicable and inflated. Contrastingly, replicable associations exhibited smaller effects with less statistical significance in the ABCD 1.0 sample. Multiple linear regressions helped assess the specificity of these findings and control the effects of confounding covariates.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Child; Brain; Brain Mapping; Anhedonia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Reproduction
PubMed: 37141274
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277158 -
BMC Psychiatry Oct 2021This study aims to explore the difference in anhedonia between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder II (BD-II), and attempt to distinguish the two...
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to explore the difference in anhedonia between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder II (BD-II), and attempt to distinguish the two diseases through Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS).
METHODS
A total of 164 drug-free depressive patients (98 MDD patients, 66 BD-II patients) completed the investigation. 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and SHAPS were assessed in all participants.
RESULTS
Our results showed that BD-II patients had higher SHAPS scores than MDD patients. The stepwise logistic regression analysis further revealed that SHAPS score, drinking habit, and extroversion as influencing factors for the identification of BD-II. The ROC curve analysis indicated that SHAPS could differentiate BD-II from MDD patients (AUC = 0.655, P = 0.001, 95% CI = 0.568 to 0.742), with the best screening cutoff at 26, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity was 0.788 and 0.520, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that BD-II patients had more severe anhedonia compared to MDD patients, and the difference in anhedonia may help clinicians preliminary identify BD patients from MDD patients. The preliminary findings are worthly of further exploration.
Topics: Anhedonia; Bipolar Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Major; Humans; Pleasure; ROC Curve
PubMed: 34706699
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03548-w -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023As a transdiagnostic symptom, social anhedonia has gained increasing attention. Evidence suggests that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients demonstrate social...
As a transdiagnostic symptom, social anhedonia has gained increasing attention. Evidence suggests that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients demonstrate social anhedonia. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) in an undergraduate sample and Chinese OCD patients. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores. This study involved 3,306 undergraduate students and 293 patients with OCD. Internal consistency and convergent validity of ACIPS were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to determine the best-fitting of potential factor models, and multi-group CFA was used to examine measurement invariance across genders and samples. Additionally, hierarchical linear regression was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores in patients suffering from OCD. ACIPS showed acceptable internal consistency in undergraduate and OCD samples (Cronbach's α = 0.93 and 0.89, respectively). In both samples, the four-factor structure had the best fit index. Scalar invariance was established across undergraduate and OCD samples, while residual invariance was established across genders. In both samples, the ACIPS was significantly correlated with the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. Depression and the severity of obsessive thoughts significantly and negatively correlated with the ACIPS score in OCD patients ( < 0.05). In conclusion, ACIPS is a reliable, effective, simple, and convenient tool for the assessment of social anhedonia. Depression and obsessive thoughts contribute to social anhedonia in OCD patients.
PubMed: 36818104
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1074180 -
NeuroImage. Clinical 2021Anhedonia has been associated with abnormal reward-related striatal dopamine functioning in patients with different psychiatric disorders. Here, we tested whether...
Anhedonia has been associated with abnormal reward-related striatal dopamine functioning in patients with different psychiatric disorders. Here, we tested whether anhedonia expression mapped onto striatal volume across several psychiatric diagnoses. T1-weighted images from 313 participants including 89 healthy controls (HC), 22 patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), 50 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 45 patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), 49 patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 43 patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and 15 patients with schizophrenia (SZ) were included. Anhedonia was assessed with subscores of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and/or the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was conducted for identifying dimensional symptom-structure associations using region of interest (ROI, dorsal and ventral striatum) and whole-brain analyses, as well as for group comparisons of striatal volume. ROI analyses revealed significant negative relationships between putamen volume and BDI and SANS anhedonia scores across OUD, MDD, BPD, CUD and SZ patients (n = 175) and MDD, FEP and SZ patients (n = 114), respectively. Whole-brain VBM analyses confirmed these associations and further showed negative relationships between anhedonia severity and volume of the bilateral cerebellum. There were group differences in right accumbens volume, which however were not related to anhedonia expression across the different diagnoses. Our findings indicate volumetric abnormalities in the putamen and cerebellum as a common neural substrate of anhedonia severity that cut across psychiatric entities.
Topics: Anhedonia; Depressive Disorder, Major; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging; Ventral Striatum
PubMed: 34544030
DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102825 -
Personality and Individual Differences Sep 2021Self-report scales are popular tools for measuring anhedonic experiences and motivational deficits, but how well do they reflect clinically significant anhedonia?...
Self-report scales are popular tools for measuring anhedonic experiences and motivational deficits, but how well do they reflect clinically significant anhedonia? Seventy-eight adults participated in face-to-face structured diagnostic interviews: 22 showed clinically significant anhedonia, and 18 met criteria for depression. Analyses of effect sizes comparing the anhedonia and depression groups to their respective controls found large effects, as expected, for measures of depressive symptoms, but surprisingly weak effect sizes (all less than =.50) for measures of general, social, or physical anhedonia, behavioral activation, and anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. Measures of Neuroticism and Extraversion distinguished the anhedonic and depressed groups from the controls at least as well as measures of anhedonia and motivation. Taken together, the findings suggest that caution is necessary when extending self-report findings to populations with clinically significant symptoms.
PubMed: 33994609
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110963 -
Translational Psychiatry Sep 2023Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are common first-line treatments for major depression. However, a significant number of depressed patients do not respond...
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are common first-line treatments for major depression. However, a significant number of depressed patients do not respond adequately to these pharmacological treatments. In the present preclinical study, we demonstrate that organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2), an atypical monoamine transporter, contributes to the effects of SSRI by regulating the routing of the essential amino acid tryptophan to the brain. Contrarily to wild-type mice, OCT2-invalidated mice failed to respond to prolonged fluoxetine treatment in a chronic depression model induced by corticosterone exposure recapitulating core symptoms of depression, i.e., anhedonia, social withdrawal, anxiety, and memory impairment. After corticosterone and fluoxetine treatment, the levels of tryptophan and its metabolites serotonin and kynurenine were decreased in the brain of OCT2 mutant mice compared to wild-type mice and reciprocally tryptophan and kynurenine levels were increased in mutants' plasma. OCT2 was detected by immunofluorescence in several structures at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or brain-CSF interface. Tryptophan supplementation during fluoxetine treatment increased brain concentrations of tryptophan and, more discreetly, of 5-HT in wild-type and OCT2 mutant mice. Importantly, tryptophan supplementation improved the sensitivity to fluoxetine treatment of OCT2 mutant mice, impacting chiefly anhedonia and short-term memory. Western blot analysis showed that glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) and mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) intracellular signaling was impaired in OCT2 mutant mice brain after corticosterone and fluoxetine treatment and, conversely, tryptophan supplementation recruited selectively the mTOR protein complex 2. This study provides the first evidence of the physiological relevance of OCT2-mediated tryptophan transport, and its biological consequences on serotonin homeostasis in the brain and SSRI efficacy.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Anhedonia; Antidepressive Agents; Brain; Corticosterone; Depressive Disorder, Major; Fluoxetine; Kynurenine; Organic Cation Transporter 2; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Serotonin; Tryptophan
PubMed: 37775532
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02596-y -
Appetite Sep 2021The current epidemic of COVID-19 has gained attention and highlighted the need for a better understanding of the population's mental health. Diet has been identified as...
The current epidemic of COVID-19 has gained attention and highlighted the need for a better understanding of the population's mental health. Diet has been identified as an environmental determinant of mental health. In this regard, it has been suggested that the consumption of palatable foods represents a strategy to mitigate negative emotions, such as anxiety. This study aimed to evaluate the association between symptoms of anxiety and/or anhedonia to food consumption patterns during the period of COVID-19 quarantine in Chile. We conducted a cross-sectional study with non-randomized sampling via an online survey. A total of 1725 responses were collected. Each person self-answered the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale for anhedonia, the Food Intake Questionnaire, and questions regarding type and duration of lockdown, as well as body weight and food serving variation. Significant correlations were observed between fried food consumption and self-reported body weight. The subjects who consumed fried food three times a week, had higher weight (63.5%) (χ = 48.5 and p < 0.001). Those who ate one and two or more pastries on a week had 1.41 and 1.49, respectively higher odds of reporting increased body weight. We found a relationship anxiety level and sugar-sweetened beverages level (χ = 25.5; p 0.013), fast food intake (χ = 63.4; p < 0.001), and pastry consumption (χ = 37.7; p < 0.001). In conclusion, it is important to monitor the evolution of these findings since they could represent a risk of increased health problems in the future post-lockdown period.
Topics: Anhedonia; Anxiety; COVID-19; Chile; Communicable Disease Control; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Quarantine; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33857546
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105259 -
Trials Jan 2024Anhedonia, which is defined as the inability to feel pleasure, is considered a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD). It can lead to several adverse outcomes...
Active versus sham DLPFC-NAc rTMS for depressed adolescents with anhedonia using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): a study protocol for a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Anhedonia, which is defined as the inability to feel pleasure, is considered a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD). It can lead to several adverse outcomes in adolescents, including heightened disease severity, resistance to antidepressants, recurrence of MDD, and even suicide. Specifically, patients who suffer from anhedonia may exhibit a limited response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Previous researches have revealed a link between anhedonia and abnormalities within the reward circuitry, making the nucleus accumbens (NAc) a potential target for treatment. However, since the NAc is deep within the brain, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has the potential to modulate this specific region. Recent advances have enabled treatment technology to precisely target the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and modify the functional connectivity (FC) between DLPFC and NAc in adolescent patients with anhedonia. Therefore, we plan to conduct a study to explore the safety and effectiveness of using resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI)-guided rTMS to alleviate anhedonia in adolescents diagnosed with MDD.
METHODS
The aim of this article is to provide a study protocol for a parallel-group randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment. The study will involve 88 participants who will be randomly assigned to receive either active rTMS or sham rTMS. The primary object is to measure the percentage change in the severity of anhedonia, using the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). The assessment will be conducted from the baseline to 8-week post-treatment period. The secondary outcome includes encompassing fMRI measurements, scores on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17), the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Chinese Version of Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (CV-TEPS), and the Chinese Version of Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI-CV). The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scores will also be taken into account, and adverse events will be monitored. These evaluations will be conducted at baseline, as well as at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks.
DISCUSSION
If the hypothesis of the current study is confirmed, (fcMRI)-guided rTMS could be a powerful tool to alleviate the core symptoms of MDD and provide essential data to explore the mechanism of anhedonia.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05544071. Registered on 16 September 2022.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex; Depressive Disorder, Major; Anhedonia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Prefrontal Cortex; Treatment Outcome; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 38218932
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-023-07814-y -
European Journal of Psychotraumatology 2023Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of death and...
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Epidemiological studies have revealed these illnesses to be highly comorbid, particularly among women. In the current study, we explored associations between indices of cardiovascular health, PTSD, and depression among a sample of trauma-exposed individuals assigned female at birth. Participants were = 49 individuals without CVD who reported lifetime Criterion A trauma exposure. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) were collected during a 5-minute resting period. Symptoms of CVD (e.g. extremity pain and swelling, shortness of breath), PTSD, and depression were assessed, along with an exploratory measure of anhedonia. Trauma exposure was positively correlated with systolic BP ( = .32, = .029) and diastolic BP ( = .30, = .040). The number of reported CVD symptoms was positively correlated with symptoms of PTSD ( = .41, = .004), depression ( = .40, = .005) and anhedonia ( = .38, = .007). CVD symptoms were also significantly associated with PTSD ( = .41, = 2.43, = .023), depression ( = .40, = 2.76, = .009), and anhedonia ( = .38, = 2.51, = .017) after controlling for age and trauma exposure. These associations were not moderated by HF-HRV in our sample. Our results support the association between PTSD and depressive symptoms and worse cardiovascular functioning among an often-overlooked population that is particularly vulnerable to these illnesses. Future studies should investigate residual impacts of PTSD and depression treatment on CVD risk among trauma-exposed individuals, particularly women.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Female; Cardiovascular Diseases; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Depression; Anhedonia; Comorbidity
PubMed: 37470387
DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2234810