Novelty reward as a measure of anhedonia
by
Bevins RA, Besheer J.
Department of Psychology,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0308, USA.
rbevins1@unl.edu
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005;29(4-5):707-14.


ABSTRACT

A decrease in sensitivity to pleasurable stimuli, anhedonia, is a major symptom of depression in humans. Several animal models have been developed to simulate this symptom (e.g. drug withdrawal, learned helplessness) using reward-sensitive procedures such as intracranial self-stimulation and progressive ratio responding as a measure of reward function. Recently, we introduced the use of another procedure, novel-object place conditioning in rats, to measure reward function in an associative learning situation. Withdrawal from chronic nicotine blocked a place preference conditioned by access to novel objects. This blockade was not due to impairment of object interaction, general activity, novelty detection, environmental familiarization, or expression of learning. Consequently, nicotine withdrawal directly reduced the rewarding properties of novelty. It is proposed that the novel-object place conditioning procedure could be usefully extended to other experimental situations and to genetically altered mice, so as to better understand the processes underlying changes in reward function.
Nicotine
Anhedonia
Amineptine
Melancholy
SSRIs v NARIs
Mood disorders
Antidepressants
Drugs and reward
Retarded depression
Stress and anhedonia
Opioids and anhedonia
An individualised approach
Depression without sadness
Stress, depression and the rat
The reward system in depression
Neuobiological mechancisms of anhedonia
Reduced hedonic capacity in major depressive disorder


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