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Published on: August 8, 2015
Motivation deficits in individuals with social anhedonia
Jiao Wang1, Jia Huang1, Simon S Y Lui2
1Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Psychology Department, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Patients with schizophrenia have been reported to exhibit anhedonia, a reduced hedonic capacity and deficits in motivation for reward pursuit. However, it is unclear whether these deficits also exist in at-risk individuals prone to psychosis or not. The present study compared 26 individuals with social anhedonia and 28 healthy controls using a grip Effort-based Pleasure Experience Task (E-PET). The findings showed that individuals with social anhedonia did not increase their hard task choices with the elevation of reward magnitude and probability while healthy controls did. Higher reward probability and magnitude did not lead to more anticipatory pleasure in individuals with social anhedonia. The mean anticipatory pleasure experience ratings in individuals with social anhedonia were significantly lower than controls. Our results suggest that individuals with social anhedonia already exhibit motivational deficits during reward pursuit.
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