ArticleDepression and anxiety2022
Altered motivation of effortful decision-making for self and others in subthreshold depression.
Article in Depression and anxiety, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploration of brain imaging biomarkers in subthreshold depression patients across different ages: an ALE meta-analysis based on MRI studies.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Structural and functional brain alterations in subthreshold depression: A multimodal coordinate-based meta-analysis.Human brain mapping · 2024Pooled it
- Environmental uncertainty shapes human effort learning.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Inefficient integration between effort and reward in anhedonia.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluation of a Tablet-Based Emotion Regulation Intervention for Surrogate Decision-Makers of Patients With Critical Illness: Pilot Nonrandomized Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Altered Habenula Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Spatial Associations with Neurotransmitter Receptor Distribution of Major Depressive Disorder with and without Anhedonia.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Article
- Reduced neural suppression at occipital cortex in subthreshold depression.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Digital measures of activity and motivation impact depression and anxiety in the real world.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Relationships between depression, anxiety, and motivation in the real-world: Effects of physical activity and screentime.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Level and limitations of physical activity in patients with excess body weight or diabetes.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Association of executive function with suicidality based on resting-state functional connectivity in young adults with subthreshold depression.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Altered motivation of effortful decision-making for self and others in subthreshold depression.Depression and anxiety · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAmotivation is a typical feature in major depressive disorders and refers to individuals exhibiting reduced willingness to exert effort for rewards. However, the motivation pattern when deciding whether to exert effort for self versus others in people with depression remains unclear.
methodsWe conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study and employed an adapted Effort-Expenditure for Rewards Task in subthreshold depressive (SD) participants (n = 33) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 32). This required participants to choose between a fixed low-effort/low-reward and a variable high-effort/high-reward option, and then immediately exert effort to obtain corresponding rewards for themselves or for unfamiliar people.
resultsCompared with the HC group, the SD group showed blunted activity in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, bilateral anterior insula (AI), and right putamen-left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functional connectivity when choosing to exert effort for themselves. Additionally, the SD group exhibited increased willingness and greater activation in the bilateral AI when choosing to exert effort for others. Furthermore, these brain activations and functional connectivity were positively related to self-reported motivation.
conclusionsThese findings show altered motivation during effort-based decision-making in individuals with the mild depressive state, particularly with higher motivation for others. Thus, this suggests that motivational behaviors and prefrontal-striatal circuitry are altered in individuals with SD, which can be utilized to discover treatment targets and develop strategies to address mental illness caused by motivation disorders.
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