Neural Reward Systems and Adolescent Depression

Presented by Erika E. Forbes, PhD

Erika E. Forbes, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, Pediatrics, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a doctorate in clinical and developmental psychology, and her research combines affective neuroscience and developmental psychopathology to address mental health in adolescence and early adulthood.

About the Event

After a long history emphasizing disruptions to negative affect and threat systems in depression, the field of clinical and affective neuroscience has turned greater attention to the role of postulated alterations to positive affect and reward systems.

A developmental perspective can provide critical insights on the mechanisms of depression — as the emergence of depression typically coincides with changes in reward-related neural systems and behavior during youth. Anhedonia, a symptom that reflects difficulty with motivation for or enjoyment of rewards, could be an especially meaningful focus for translational applications of this approach because it is thought to rely on reward and dopamine systems and is associated with poor clinical course and treatment resistance.

This presentation will describe findings on the function of neural reward systems in adolescent depression and anhedonia, in extension to understanding clinical course, disparities in mental health care, suicidality, and translational treatments.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the role of alterations in neural reward and positive affect systems in the onset and progression of adolescent depression.
• Differentiate the neurobiological and behavioral features of anhedonia in youth, including its association with dopamine system dysfunction, poor clinical course, and treatment resistance.
• Apply emerging insights from reward system research to identify potential translational treatment targets and address disparities in mental health care and suicidality among adolescents with depression.

Disclosure

• Erika Forbes, PhD has no relevant financial relationship with ineligible companies to disclose.

About the Visiting Professor Lecture Series

The Child Mind Institute Visiting Professor Lecture Series invites leaders in the field of child and adolescent mental health to talk about the latest research and treatment protocols. All events are open to the public. Continuing medical education (CME) credits for psychiatrists and continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists and social workers are available to registered course participants. Learn more.