Anhedonia Reflects Greater Difficulty Transitioning from Aversive States to Pleasurable States

We examined the symptom dimension of anhedonia among adolescents with depression. In contrast to historical definitions of anhedonia (i.e., ‘an inability to experience pleasure or reduced hedonic capacity’), results suggest anhedonia more closely reflects deficits in hedonic flexibility, the ability to flexibly switch from aversive to pleasurable states.