28 December 2025 : Review article
Anhedonia in Depressive Disorder and Schizophrenia: An Overview of Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Maciej Ludwik Pelc
BDEF 1*, Agnieszka Barbara Białek BDEF 1, Oliwia Anastazja Stasiewicz BDEF 1, Nikola Oliwia Sobecka BDEF 1, Ewelina Soroka ADEG 1
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.950368
Med Sci Monit 2025; 31:e950368
Introduction: Defining Anhedonia in Depression and Schizophrenia
Anhedonia vs Fatigue and Symptom Differentiation
Multidimensional Nature of Anhedonia
Reward and Punishment Processing in Anhedonia
Criteria for Differentiation and Diagnosis of Anhedonia
Neurobiological and Inflammatory Mechanisms
Questionnaires Used in Research on Anhedonia
Anhedonia in Schizophrenia: A Negative Symptom Perspective
Treatment of Anhedonia
Antidepressants
Antipsychotic Drugs
Glutamatergic Drugs
Kappa Opioid Receptor Antagonist Drugs
KCNQ Channel Activators
Neurostimulation
Psychotherapy
Future Development Directions
Conclusions
References
Figure 1 Available methods of treating anhedonia, including pharmacological treatment, divided into individual groups of drugs, and non-pharmacological treatment [1,2,12,14,33]. 1 – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor; 2 – Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor; 3 – κ-opioid receptor.