Cited by 1,232Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorTreatment of Major Depression

Reduced caudate and nucleus accumbens response to rewards in unmedicated individuals with major depressive disorder

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Pizzagalli, Diego A., Holmes, Avram J., Dillon, Daniel G., Goetz, Elena L., Birk, Jeffrey L., Bogdan, Ryan, Dougherty, Darin D., Iosifescu, Dan V. +2 more·2009·American Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Major depressive disorder is characterized by impaired reward processing, possibly due to dysfunction in the basal ganglia. However, few neuroimaging studies of depression have distinguished between anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing. Using functional MRI (fMRI) and a task that dissociates anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing, the authors tested the hypothesis that individuals with major depression would show reduced reward-related responses in basal ganglia structures. METHOD: A monetary incentive delay task was presented to 30 unmedicated individuals with major depressive disorder and 31 healthy comparison subjects during fMRI scanning. Whole-brain analyses focused on neural responses to reward-predicting cues and rewarding outcomes (i.e., monetary gains). Secondary analyses focused on the relationship between anhedonic symptoms and basal ganglia volumes. RESULTS: Relative to comparison subjects, participants with major depression showed significantly weaker responses to gains in the left nucleus accumbens and the caudate bilaterally. Group differences in these regions were specific to rewarding outcomes and did not generalize to neutral or negative outcomes, although relatively reduced responses to monetary penalties in the major depression group emerged in other caudate regions. By contrast, evidence for group differences during reward anticipation was weaker, although participants with major depression showed reduced activation to reward cues in a small sector of the left posterior putamen. In the major depression group, anhedonic symptoms and depression severity were associated with reduced caudate volume bilaterally. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that basal ganglia dysfunction in major depression may affect the consummatory phase of reward processing. Additionally, morphometric results suggest that anhedonia in major depression is related to caudate volume.

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Crossref · 10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08081201

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  • Decreased activity and connectivity of the ventral striatum and other reward-related regions has been found in MDD.

    “By contrast, decreased activity and connectivity of the ventral striatum and other reward-related regions has been found in MDD, leading to decreased recruitment of saliency processing areas like the dorsal cingulate and anterior insula 102-106 .”

    From Major depressive disorder (2016) · cites this paper as [105]

    The Results (Functional MRI Data; page unavailable) report weaker responses to gains in the left nucleus accumbens and bilateral caudate in participants with MDD, supporting decreased reward-related activity. The paper does not establish decreased connectivity or that these findings lead to reduced recruitment of the dorsal cingulate or anterior insula. It also describes the nucleus accumbens difference as preliminary. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Aberrant activity in the dorsal striatum is implicated in the core symptoms of depression, such as anhedonia and psychomotor retardation.

    “Aberrant activity in the dorsal striatum is implicated in the core symptoms of depression, such as anhedonia and psychomotor retardation.”

    From The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders (2023) · cites this paper as [126]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports weaker reward responses in the caudate in participants with depression and relates caudate volume to anhedonia, supporting the dorsal-striatal and anhedonia portion of the claim. The paper does not link dorsal-striatal activity to psychomotor retardation; its Introduction mentions the basal ganglia’s role in motor control but does not establish that symptom-specific connection. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Multiple studies support the idea that the severity of depression is associated with both increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and with structural as well as functional alterations in the dorsal part of the striatum.

    “Multiple studies support the idea that the severity of depression is associated with both increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and with structural as well as functional alterations in the dorsal part of the striatum [124,125,126].”

    From The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders (2023) · cites this paper as [126]

    The Results (Morphometric Data and Functional MRI Data; page numbers unavailable) associate greater depression severity with smaller caudate volume and report weaker reward-related caudate responses in the depressed group. They do not establish an association between severity and functional response, and the Limitations section notes that the volume association appeared on one depression scale but not another. The paper does not address proinflammatory cytokines. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • The severity of depression in unmedicated patients is associated with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and with structural and functional alterations in the dorsal part of the striatum.

    “Increasing evidence from clinical studies indicates that the severity of depression in unmedicated patients is associated not only with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, but also with the structural and functional alterations in the dorsal part of the striatum [21–23].”

    From Chronic stress-induced depression requires the recruitment of peripheral Th17 cells into the brain (2022) · cites this paper as [23]

    The Results (Morphometric Data; page unavailable) associate greater depression severity on the BDI with smaller bilateral caudate volume in unmedicated patients. The Results also report weaker caudate responses to rewards in patients than controls, but the Discussion (Limitations; page unavailable) says striatal activation was not correlated with symptoms. The paper does not address proinflammatory cytokines, and its structural severity correlation did not emerge for the HRSD. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Depressed patients show an attenuated activation of the VTA-NAc pathway or the NAc itself when compared to normal patients in fMRI analyses.

    “Depressed patients show an attenuated activation of the VTA-NAc pathway or the NAc itself when compared to normal patients in fMRI analyses (Epstein et al. 2006; Furman et al. 2011; Pizzagalli et al. 2009; Smoski et al. 2009).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [24]First MB Spitzer RL Gibbon M Williams JBW Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, Research Version, Patient Edition. (SCID-I/P) 2002 Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, NY

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Authors
Pizzagalli, D. A., Holmes, A. J., Dillon, D. G., Goetz, E. L., Birk, J. L., Bogdan, R., Dougherty, D. D., Iosifescu, D. V., Rauch, S. L., & Fava, M.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Published
2009-06
Volume
166
Issue
6
Pages
702-710
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
OpenAlex
W2100036649
Cited by
1,232
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 35 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 65 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 89 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 77 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 76 · 2015: 99 · 2014: 90 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 62
FWCI
26.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH068376, R21MH078979, R01 MH68376)
  • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R21AT002974, R01AT001638, R01 AT1638)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
major depressive disorder, reward processing, caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens, basal ganglia, anhedonia, monetary incentive delay task, reward anticipation, posterior putamen, caudate volume, untreated depression
MeSH terms
Adult, Antidepressive Agents, Caudate Nucleus, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nucleus Accumbens, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reaction Time, Reward, Severity of Illness Index, Citalopram, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

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