Neural reactivity to reward and internalizing symptom dimensions

Abstract

Background Reduced reward responsiveness, measured via the event-related potential (ERP) component the reward positivity (RewP), has been linked to several internalizing psychopathologies (IPs). Specifically, prior studies suggest that a reduced RewP is robustly related to depression and to a lesser extent anxiety. No studies to date, however, have examined the relation between the RewP and IP symptom dimensions in a heterogeneous, clinically representative patient population that includes both depressed and/or anxious subjects. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relation between the RewP and specific internalizing symptom dimensions among patients with a variety of IP diagnoses and symptoms. Methods A total of 80 treatment seeking adults from the community completed a battery of questionnaires assessing a range of IP symptoms and a well-validated reward processing task known to robustly elicit the RewP. Results A principal components analysis (PCA) on clinical assessments revealed two distinct factors that characterized the patient sample: affective distress/misery and fear-based anxiety. Results showed that within this sample, an attenuated RewP was associated with greater affective distress/misery based symptoms; however, the RewP was unrelated to fear-based anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The current findings suggest that patients with higher distress/misery symptoms are characterized by decreased responsivity to rewards at the physiological level, and that this response tendency distinguishes distress/misery symptoms from fear-based symptoms. The RewP may be one promising transdiagnostic biological target for intervention efforts for individuals with distress-based symptoms of psychopathology.

Internal and external signal processing in patients with panic disorder: An event-related potential (ERP) study

“…Consequently, the large variability in the electrophysiological results across studies on feedback processing in GAD, MDD and OCD does not allow to advance conclusions on whether internalization reduces the processing of external signals. Moreover, in a recent study, Burkhouse and collaborators [32] found that feedback processing in internalizing psychopathologies might differ according to the level of distress/misery or fear symptoms [1]. In fact, abnormal feedback processing seems to be linked to the severity of distress/misery but not to fear symptoms.…”

Engagement in Socially and Interpersonally Rewarding Activities as a Predictor of Outcome in “Engage” Behavioral Activation Therapy for Late-Life Depression

“…21 Reward processing is often impaired in late life depression. [22][23][24] Decreased reward responsiveness has been associated with depressive symptoms [25][26][27][28] and is correlated with severity of anhedonia. 29 Most neurobiological studies of reward processing have primarily investigated responses to monetary outcomes (i.e.…”

RETRACTED: Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression

“…A number of studies have examined the RewP, an ERP component elicited by feedback indicating rewards versus losses, that is thought to reflect activity of the reward circuit (i.e., the ventral striatum, caudate and dACC) (29)(30)(31). Depressed adults show decreased RewPs (32,33) and increased depression in children/ adolescents is related to reduced RewP (26,34,35). A reduced RewP predicts later depression in adolescents (25,34) and is related to the severity of anhedonia in adults (36).…”