Anhedonia: Preclinical, Translational, and Clinical Integration

Anhedonia is a key symptom of neuropsychiatric disorders, associated with worse disease course and poor response to treatments. Evidence suggests that anhedonia can be parsed into partially independent subcomponents, with distinct neurobiological substrates. This book provides a comprehensive evaluation, synthesis, and integration of theories and empirical findings on anhedonia, organized across five parts. It covers the history, etiology, assessments, role in psychiatric and neurological disorders, reward processing subdomains, special topics, and pharmacological, psychological, and neurostimulation treatments.

Format: Hardback
Length: 535 pages
Publication date: 10 August 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Anhedonia is a crucial symptom and often a risk factor for a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and Parkinson's Disease, among others. This condition is linked to a worse disease course, including poor responses to various treatments such as pharmacological interventions, psychological therapies, and neurostimulation techniques. Furthermore, anhedonia has been associated with completed suicide.

Emerging evidence from preclinical and translational sciences has shed light on the nature of anhedonia by identifying partially independent subcomponents. These subcomponents include incentive motivation, consummatory pleasure, reward learning, and effort-based decision-making. These findings suggest that anhedonia may arise from distinct neurobiological substrates, providing potential targets for therapeutic interventions.

In response to this need, this handbook offers a comprehensive evaluation, synthesis, and integration of theories and empirical findings focused on anhedonia. The book is organized into five parts, beginning with chapters on the history, etiology, and assessments of anhedonia (Part I). The second part explores the role of anhedonia in psychiatric and neurological disorders, utilizing the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Matrix as a framework. Part III presents chapters that synthesize preclinical and clinical findings on different reward processing subdomains, such as reward responsiveness, reward valuation, and reward learning. Part IV focuses on selected special topics, including historical and current perspectives on the transdiagnostic nature and importance of social anhedonia, the role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of anhedonia, and the use of computational modeling to "dissect" anhedonia and improve our understanding and treatment of this condition.

By taking an integrative approach that emphasizes cross-species integration and dimensional conceptualization of mental illnesses, this handbook provides a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, and individuals seeking to better understand and address anhedonia. The comprehensive coverage of topics, coupled with the integration of theoretical and empirical findings, makes it an essential tool for advancing our knowledge and improving the lives of those affected by this debilitating condition.

Weight: 980g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031096822
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022