title: The relationship between anhedonia and positive, negative, and general symptomatology in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: An inability to experience pleasure or a reduction in the ability to do so is a prominent feature of schizophrenia that is often included among the negative symptoms of the disorder. As a whole, dysfunction in the affective experience of pleasure in patients with schizophrenia is poorly understood and is mediated by a number of cognitive and emotional processes. Whilst there is evidence that patients with schizophrenia have an impaired ability to derive and experience pleasure from non-current tasks, there is some evidence that they report current pleasurable experiences similar to non-clinical control participants. Previous studies investigating anhedonia have a number of methodological shortcomings that fail to examine the impact of general symptomology on the ability to experience pleasure. This current study involved 55 adults meeting the criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia. We looked specifically at relationships between anhedonia and positive, negative and general symptomatology. The results support the notion that anhedonia may best be considered as a separate phenomenon from negative symptoms of schizophrenia and from related symptomatology. The implications of these findings are considered in relation to future treatment initiatives.
authors: Cambian Group, Clinical Psychology , London , UK.
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: Huxley
authors: Andres Saez
authors: AS
authors: Fonseca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D059445:Anhedonia; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D055815:Young Adult