# Inflammation and Reward-related Behavioral and Neural Phenotypes

> **NIH NIH F31** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $8,450

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Anhedonia transcends psychiatric diagnostic boundaries (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, PTSD) and is a
marker of severe dysfunction and treatment resistance. However, the mechanisms through which vulnerability
to anhedonia arises are poorly understood. Emerging convergent evidence from non-human animal models and
initial human studies suggest that elevated inflammatory signaling may contribute to the development of
anhedonia. However, the neural and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the link between inflammation
and anhedonia are largely unknown. Here, I propose to conduct two studies examining whether variability in
reward-related neural circuitry and behavior may plausibly contribute to inflammation-related anhedonia. In the
first study, I will collect fasting blood, electroencephalography (EEG), behavioral, and self-report data from young
adults (n=150, 18-35 year olds) to test whether circulating cytokines are correlated with distinct aspects of
behavioral (i.e., reward learning, delay discounting) and neural (i.e., feedback-related negativity [FRN]) indices
of reward processing. In the second study, I will use data from the publicly available Adolescent Brain Cognitive
Development (ABCD) longitudinal study of children (n=11,875 8-10 year olds at baseline) to test whether
polygenic risk for heightened inflammatory signaling is associated with variability in reward-related corticostriatal
circuit brain structure an anhedonia. The results of these projects would broadly inform our etiologic
understanding of various forms of psychopathology that may ultimately contribute to refinements in diagnostic
nosology and facilitate treatment and prevention approaches that target links within an etiologic chain. More
immediately, this proposal would provide me with training in interdisciplinary research integrating inflammation,
reward-related behavioral and neural phenotypes, and genomic approaches that would pave the way for the
development of an independent research career.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10410468
- **Project number:** 5F31MH123105-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Erin Bondy
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $8,450
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10410468

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10410468, Inflammation and Reward-related Behavioral and Neural Phenotypes (5F31MH123105-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10410468. Licensed CC0.

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