• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.438-444
• /
• 2005

Purpose: Anhedonia has been proposed to be the result of a basic neurophysiologic dysfunction and a vulnerability marker that precede and contribute to the liability of developing schizophrenia. We hypothesized that anhedonia, as a construct reflecting the decreased capacity to experience pleasure, should be associated with decreased positive hedonic affect trait. This study examined the relationship between anhedonia and positive hedonic affect trait and searched for the brain legions which correlate with anhedonia in normal subjects. Materials and Methods: Using $^{18}F$-FDG PET scan, we investigated the brain activity of twenty one subjects during resting state. Questionnaires were administrated after the scan in order to assess the self-rated individual differences in physical/social anhedonia and positive/negative affect traits. Results: Negative correlation between physical anhedonia score and positive affect trait score was significant (Pearson coefficient =-0.440, p<0.05). The subjects physical and social anhedonia scores showed positive correlation with metabolic rates in the cerebellum and negative correlation with metabolic rates in the inferior temporal gyrus and middie frontal gyrus. In addition, the positive affect trait score positively correlated with various areas, most prominent with the inferior temporal gyrus. Conclusion: These results suggest that neural substrates, such as the inferior temporal gyrus and prefrontal-cerebellar circuit, which dysfunction has been proposed to be involved with the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, may also play a significant role in the liability of affective deficits like anhedonia.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.48-59
• /
• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) program on empathy, interpersonal relationship, and social anhedonia of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental one using a nonequivalent control group pre-posttest design. The experimental group consisted of 30 members who participated in one of the two hospitals, and the control group consisted of 31 members who participated in the other hospital. These two groups were randomly assigned to one of two mental hospitals in a local area. The experimental group participated in six sessions of the NVC program. Results: As a result, empathy (F=5.29, p=.025) and social anhedonia (F=6.92, p=.011) has showed significant effects. However, interpersonal relationships were not statistically significant (F=0.83, p=.366). Conclusions: This study verified that the NVC program was effective in improving communication skills and the negative symptoms of patients with schizophrenia. Developing a variety of programs and applying interventions will help community rehabilitation and social adjustment for patients with schizophrenia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.155-161
• /
• 2017

Objectives Decision-making in patients with schizophrenia has been known to be inefficient in both cognitive and affective aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anhedonia and self-esteem on the decision-making process in schizophrenia. Methods Twenty patients with schizophrenia and 21 healthy controls performed the 'apparel purchase decision-making task', during which they were asked to respond to the preference, fitness, and price suitability, before making the final purchase decision. Generalized estimating equation and correlation analysis were conducted to explore for the difference of decision making patterns and influential factors between the two groups. Results The patients showed lower odds ratio (OR) of the fitness on the apparel purchase decision than the controls [OR 0.190 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.047-0.762, p = 0.019). In the patient group, there was no correlation between the number of purchased trials and the severity of anhedonia, but the number of purchased trials was negatively correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale score at a trend level (R = -0.436, p = 0.055). Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia considered the fitness of clothes less than healthy controls on apparel purchasing decisions. Schizophrenia patients with lower self-esteem were intended to buy more clothes.

• Korean Journal of Schizophrenia Research
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.36-42
• /
• 2014

Objectives : The dysfunctional neural networks underlying self-evaluation in schizophrenia are overlapped with the neural structures involved in emotion regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anhedonia on the self-evaluation attitude of patients with schizophrenia. Methods : Twenty healthy controls and twenty patients with schizophrenia performed a self-evaluation task, presenting a pair of the face (self, familiar other, and unfamiliar other) and word (negative, neutral, and positive noun) at the same time. Participants were asked to evaluate relevance between the pairs by pressing a corresponding button. Relevance rating scores were compared between the groups and were correlated with the severity of physical and social anhedonia. Results : Patients evaluated the condition of a self face with a negative word and a familiar face with a negative word to be more relevant than healthy controls. In the patient group, the scores of relevance rating in the condition of an unfamiliar other face with a negative word were positively correlated with the anhedonia scale scores (physical : r=0.486, p=0.030 ; social : r=0.499, p=0.025). There was no correlation between the self-evaluation attitude and the severity of anhedonia. Conclusion : Patients with schizophrenia evaluate themselves badly in only negative circumstances, and anhedonia is not related to self-evaluation, but rather other-evaluation.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.32 no.10
• /
• pp.812-820
• /
• 2022

Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by depressed mood, anhedonia, fatigue, and altered cognitive function, leading to a decline in daily functioning. In addition, depression is a serious and common mental illness not only in an individual's life but also in society, so it must be actively treated. Autophagy is involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of mental illness. According to a recent study, it is known that autophagy-induced apoptosis affects neuroplasticity and causes depression and that antidepressants regulate autophagy. Autophagy is a catabolic process that degradation and removes unnecessary organelles or proteins through a lysosome. And, it is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Autophagy is activated in stress conditions, and depression is a stress-related disease. Stress causes damage to cellular homeostasis. Recently, although the role of autophagy mechanisms in neurons has been investigated, the autophagy of depression has not been fully studied. This review highlights the new evidence for the involvement of autophagy in the pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment of depression. To highlight the evidence, we present results from clinical and preclinical studies showing that autophagy is associated with depression. Understanding the relevance of autophagy to depression and the limitations of research suggest that autophagy regulation may provide a new direction for antidepressant development.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.125-137
• /
• 2001

We investigated the self-concept, subjective depression, and state-trait anxiety of the school boys with learning disabilities(abbr. LD, n=86) and compared them with normal boys(n=52) using Piers-Harris Self-Concept Inventory, Child Depression Inventory(abbr. CDI), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(abbr. STAI). With regard to Piers-Harris Self-Concept Inventory total scores, there was no significant difference between two groups, but normal boys showed higher scores in intellectual and school status, physical appearance, and happiness-satisfaction subscales than patients with LD. The male patients with LD showed significantly higher ratings in CDI total scores, and CDI subscales - ineffectiveness, anhedonia, negative self-esteem than normal children. The patients with LD reported significantly higher state anxiety, but not trait anxiety. Correlation analyses revealed that self-concept decreased over time, and depression-anxiety increased across grades in the patients with LD, but not in normal children. Especially, negative mood, anhedonia, negative self-esteem subscales of CDI, and state-trait anxiety showed significant positive correlation with grades. In both groups, CDI scores were inversely correlated with Piers-Harris Self-Concept and positively with State-Trait anxiety. In conclusion, self-concept problems which were related with school achievement and self-esteem were more abundant in the patients with LD than normal children, self-image problem, depression and anxiety increased across grades. According to regression analysis, age, behavior subscale, intellectual-school status, anxiety, popularity, happiness-satisfaction, CDI-ineffectiveness, interpersonal problem, negative self-esteem, and state anxiety could explain the self-concept in the patients with LD, not in normal children. So, the self-concept of the patients with LD were found to be related to the school achievement and stress when comparing with peers. In conclusion, elementary school boys with LD showed lower self-concept, higher depression and anxiety, and these differences increased across grades. Since the patients with LD have concomitant depression and anxiety disorders, it is important that comorbidity with emotional problems should be explored and managed properly.