Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41069016›Full record

ArticlePsychological medicine2025

Reward-related activation of fronto-striatal regions scaled negatively with C-reactive protein.

Athina R Aruldass, Manfred Kitzbichler, Tsen Vei Lim, Wellcome Trust Consortium for Neuroimmunology of Mood Disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease (NIMA), Jonathan Cavanagh, Philip Cowen, Carmine Pariante, Edward Bullmore, Neil Harrison

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychological medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Athina R AruldassBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6553-659X
Manfred KitzbichlerBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Tsen Vei LimDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6565-4326
Wellcome Trust Consortium for Neuroimmunology of Mood Disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease (NIMA)
Jonathan CavanaghCentre for Immunobiology, University of Glasgow and Sackler Institute of Psychobiological Research, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0640-8050
Philip CowenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5518-6138
Carmine ParianteStress, Psychiatry and Immunology Laboratory & Perinatal Psychiatry, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Kings College London, London, UK.
Edward BullmoreBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8955-8283
Neil HarrisonCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

Funding

Wellcome Trust 104025Wellcome Trust 104025/Z/14/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepression is characterized by divergent changes in positive and negative affect. Emerging roles of inflammation in depression portend avenues for novel immunomodulator-based monotherapy, targeting mechanistically distinct symptoms such as anhedonia and pessimism.

methodsTo investigate links between these divergent affective components and inflammation, we used a probabilistic reinforcement-learning fMRI paradigm, testing for evidence of hyposensitivity to reward, and hypersensitivity to punishment in low-inflammation depression cases (loCRP depression; CRP ≤ 3 mg/L;

resultsVoxel-wise activation was observed in key brain regions sensitive to monetary reward (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, vmPFC; nucleus accumbens, NAc) and punishment (insula) outcomes across all three groups. However, there was no significant difference in activation between groups. Within depression cases, increasing CRP scaled negatively with activation in the right vmPFC and left NAc but not insula cortex. However, there was no significant association between regional activation and severity of anhedonia or pessimism.

conclusionsOur results support the previously reported association between CRP and striatal reward reactivity in depression but do not extend this to processing of negatively valenced information.

Indexed as

AnhedoniaC-Reactive ProteinInflammationInsular CortexMajor Depressive DisorderNucleus AccumbensPrefrontal CortexRewardAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedPunishmentYoung AdultC-Reactive ProteinAffect reorientationAnhedoniaCRPDepressionfMRIInflammationPessimismReward responsiveness

Identifiers

PMID41069016
PMCPMC12551582

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.