Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure from things that normally produce it. It is a core symptom of depression but is not present in mild forms of the illness. More than 70% of people with severe depression experience anhedonia*, which is also common in those with schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological and psychiatric conditions.
The latest science news tell us: Stress can dull our capacity for joy: mouse brain patterns hint at why (NATURE NEWS 04 December 2024).
Joylessness induced by stress leaves a distinct signature in the brains of mice. A distinct brain signature could be behind a hallmark symptom of depression.
Researchers found that communication is disrupted between two regions of the brains of mice susceptible to anhedonia, a resistance to enjoyment and pleasure. Injecting the rodents with compounds that caused neurons in the target areas to fire more frequently made their brain activity more similar to that of ‘resilient’ mice, and made them more likely to seek rewards. If these findings are validated in humans, they provide a new avenue for treating anhedonia, which is common in people with depression.
Scientists pinpoint brain circuits linked to either resilience or vulnerability to adversity, which affect a stressed animal’s pursuit of pleasure.
Joylessness triggered by stress creates a distinct brain signature, according to research in mice. The study also reveals one brain pattern that seems to confer resilience to stress ― and another that makes stressed animals less likely to feel pleasure, a core symptom of depression.
The symptom is notoriously difficult to treat, even in those taking medication. “Anhedonia is something that patients care about the most, and feel like it’s least addressed by current treatments,”. Xia, F. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08241-y (2024).
These findings, published recently in Nature, offer clues as to how the brain gives rise to anhedonia, a resistance to enjoyment and pleasure.
The results also provide a new avenue for treating the condition ― if the findings are validated in humans.
However, it is known since the time of Epicurus – (341-270 BC): supreme good is not the life itself but happiness is the sole purpose of life, absence of ATATAXIA & APONIA. HAPPINES = NO FEAR; NO PAIN = WELL-BEING & HEALTH – something our PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR.
STRESS and ANHEDONIA can already now be reduced by a novel non-drug treatment: Evanes Vagus nerve stimulator, available now on IndieGoGo.