ANHEDONIA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does anhedonia mean? 

• ANHEDONIA (noun)
  The noun ANHEDONIA has 1 sense:

1. an inability to experience pleasure

  Familiarity information: ANHEDONIA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANHEDONIA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An inability to experience pleasure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("anhedonia" is a kind of...):

mental condition; mental state; psychological condition; psychological state ((psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic)

 Context examples 

However, anhedonia also involves a lack of motivation and lack of excitement in anticipation of events.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

One major issue slowing down progress in developing new treatments is that the brain mechanisms that give rise to anhedonia remain largely unknown.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

A key symptom of depression is anhedonia, typically defined as the loss of ability to experience pleasure.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

Understanding the brain circuits that underlie specific aspects of anhedonia is of major importance, not only because anhedonia is a core feature of depression but also because it is one of the most treatment-resistant symptoms, says Laith Alexander, the study’s first author.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

A second important issue is that anhedonia is multi-faceted – it goes beyond a loss of pleasure and can involve a lack of anticipation and motivation, and it’s possible that these different aspects may have distinct underlying causes.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

Imaging studies of depressed patients have given us a clue about some of the brain regions that may be involved in anhedonia, but we still don't know which of these regions is causally responsible, says Professor Angela Roberts from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

In a study involving marmosets, scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified the region of the brain that contributes to this phenomenon, and shown that the experimental antidepressant ketamine acts on this region, helping explain why this drug may prove effective at treating anhedonia.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)