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Scientific article
Open access
English

Anhedonic symptoms of depression are linked to reduced motivation to obtain a reward

Published inMotivation and emotion, vol. 40, no. 2, p. 300-308
Publication date2016
Abstract

People with depression report reduced motivation to obtain a reward and reduced affective responses to reward. However, studies focusing on the relation between anhedonia and deficits in reward processing are scarce. Furthermore, studies investigating wanting through cardiovascular reactivity and liking through facial electromyography in human beings are also scarce. In this study, we used the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) score as a continuous predictor variable of anhedonia and we manipulated two within-person conditions (wanting vs. liking). Participants earned money if their performance on a memory task exceeded a particular standard. As expected, effort-related cardiovascular reactivity and self-reports during the anticipatory phase were lower for participants scoring high on anhedonia. Moreover, task performance outcomes were worse for highly anhedonic participants. However, the zygomaticus major muscle's activity during the consummatory phase was unrelated to the anhedonia score. The present study underlines the importance of anhedonic symptoms particularly in reduced anticipatory motivation to obtain a reward.

Keywords
  • Anhedonia
  • Depression
  • Reward wanting and liking
  • Cardiovascular reactivity
  • Muscular reactivity
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - 100014-134557
Citation (ISO format)
FRANZEN, Jessica, BRINKMANN, Kerstin. Anhedonic symptoms of depression are linked to reduced motivation to obtain a reward. In: Motivation and emotion, 2016, vol. 40, n° 2, p. 300–308. doi: 10.1007/s11031-015-9529-3
Main files (1)
Article (Accepted version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal0146-7239
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