Inflammation-induced anhedonia: endotoxin reduces ventral striatum responses to reward.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although inflammatory activity is known to play a role in depression, no work has examined whether experimentally induced systemic inflammation alters neural activity that is associated with anhedonia, a key diagnostic symptom of depression. To investigate this, we examined the effect of an experimental inflammatory challenge on the neural correlates of anhedonia-namely, reduced ventral striatum (VS) activity to reward cues. We also examined whether this altered neural activity related to inflammatory-induced increases in depressed mood.

Methods

Participants (n = 39) were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or low-dose endotoxin, which increases proinflammatory cytokine levels in a safe manner. Cytokine levels were repeatedly assessed through hourly blood

SUBMITTER: Eisenberger NI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3025604 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature