A transdiagnostic meta-analysis of physical and social Anhedonia in major depressive disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Introduction: Anhedonia is a transdiagnostic construct conceptualized as physical or social, however, the extent to which these subtypes differ across psychotic and mood pathology remains poorly understood. We aimed to quantify the severity of physical and social anhedonia across Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder (SSDs).

Methods: We conducted meta-analyses of the Chapman Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales (PAS;SAS).

Imaging the "social brain" in schizophrenia: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies of social reward and punishment.

Decreased social functioning and high levels of loneliness and social isolation are common in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), contributing to reduced quality of life. One key contributor to social impairment is low social motivation, which may stem from aberrant neural processing of socially rewarding or punishing stimuli. To summarize research on the neurobiology of social motivation in SSD, we performed a systematic literature review of neuroimaging studies involving the presentation of social stimuli intended to elicit feelings of reward and/or punishment.

Empathy Mind-Set Moderates the Association Between Low Empathy and Social Aggression.

Empathy plays an important role in creating and maintaining adaptive interpersonal relationships. Accordingly, existing studies often report a negative correlation between empathy and interpersonal aggression. However, findings are sometimes inconsistent, and concerns have been raised about the size of the overall effect.