Cited by 175Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesTreatment of Major Depression

Unipolar depression does not moderate responses to the Sweet Taste Test

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Dichter, Gabriel S., Smoski, Moria J., Kampov-Polevoy, Alexey B., Gallop, Robert, Garbutt, James C.·2010·Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Sweet Taste Test (STT) measures hedonic responses to sweet tastes and has been linked to both alcoholism and to a family history of alcoholism. However, STT response profiles in unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD), a disorder characterized by anhedonia, have been minimally investigated. METHODS: Twelve adults with and 15 adults without MDD participated in two identical STT assessments separated by approximately 12 weeks. Between assessments, MDD outpatients received Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression, a psychotherapy modality designed to increase engagement with rewarding stimuli and reduce avoidance behaviors. Primary-dependent measures included sensitivity to sucrose, hedonic response to sucrose, and designation as a Sweet-Liker or Sweet-Disliker. RESULTS: A total of 75% of adults with MDD were treatment responders. There were no significant differences in STT response profiles between groups overall or at either timepoint. Furthermore, STT profiles of MDD participants did not differ after psychotherapy, relative to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that although anhedonia is a symptom of MDD, the disorder is not characterized by altered responses to sweet tastes. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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  • Evidence indicates preserved consummatory reward in functionally analogous tests such as the sweet taste test in major depressive disorder.

    “this has been re-assessed due to evidence indicating preserved consummatory reward in functionally analogous tests (e.g., sweet taste test) in MDD [25,26].”

    From Prefrontal cortex and depression (2022) · cites this paper as [25]

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [14]Dichter GS Felder JN Petty C Bizzell J Ernst M Smoski MJ 2009 The effects of psychotherapy on neural responses to rewards in major depression Biol Psychiatry 66 9 886 897 19726030 PMC3657763
  2. [27]First MB Spitzer RL Gibbon M Williams JBW 1996 Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID), Clinician Version; Administration Booklet American Psychiatric Press Washington, D.C
  3. [33]Wolfinger RD O’Connell N 1993 Generalized linear mixed models: a pseudolikelihood approach Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 43 233 243

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Authors
Dichter, G. S., Smoski, M. J., Kampov-Polevoy, A. B., Gallop, R., & Garbutt, J. C.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Duke University (US)
  • West Chester University (US)
Corresponding author
Dichter, Gabriel S.
Venue
Depression and Anxiety
Published
2010-08-30
Volume
27
Issue
9
Pages
859-863
ISSN
1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1976598196
Cited by
175
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 6
FWCI
1.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • National Institutes of Health
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • National Institute of Mental Health (HD40127, MH070448, NIMH K23, T32MH070448, K23MH087754, MH078145, R03MH078145, K23MH081285, MH081285)
  • National Center for Research Resources (RR023248, K12RR023248)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32-HD-40127, K12HD043446, T32HD040127)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
unipolar major depression, anhedonia, sucrose sensitivity, behavioral activation therapy, treatment response, alcoholism
MeSH terms
Adult, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychotherapy, Sucrose, Taste, Case-Control Studies, Young Adult

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