# Dopamine Availability and Developmental Pathways of Adolescent Depression and Anhedonia

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $777,514

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Depression is a common, serious form of psychopathology that is associated with suffering, disability, and
suicide. Depression is characterized by disrupted reward function and typically begins during adolescence, a
key developmental period for change in neurobehavioral systems supporting reward-driven behavior. The
dopamine neuromodulatory system is consistently associated with depression and thought to be specifically
reflected in anhedonia, a cardinal symptom of depression that involves difficulty with motivation for or
enjoyment of pleasant experiences. Furthermore, dopamine function is postulated to mediate the influence of
neuroinflammation on depression. Developmentally, understanding the role of dopamine in depression
requires examining changes in reward function over time and across domains, including frontostriatal reward
circuitry, dopamine availability in the striatum, reward-driven behavior, and reward-focused experiences in
real-life settings.
The proposed study uses a developmental psychopathology and clinical neuroscience approach. It situates
changes in depression, dopamine, and their association against a backdrop of typical development and
captures key constructs across methods and domains. Its translational strategy emphasizes measures of
dopamine function inspired by basic neuroscience.
The study will examine developmental pathways of dopamine in adolescent depression, using an accelerated
longitudinal design with assessments at 0, 12, and 24 months in 150 adolescents (age 16-22), 75 with
depression and 75 who are psychiatrically healthy. Adolescents will complete a magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) session to assess dopamine function; functional MRI of frontostriatal response during a reward
paradigm and at rest; ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of reward anticipation and reward-seeking
behavior; smartphone-based passive sensing of motor activity and phone/text activity; behavioral tasks of
reward motivation; self-report of depression, anhedonia, and reward function; and measurement of circulating
inflammatory markers (e.g., CRP, IL-6). Dopamine function will be measured safely and noninvasively through
MRI. The primary focus will be dopamine availability via R2’, a measure of tissue iron, which is concentrated in
the basal ganglia, co-localizes with pre-synaptic dopamine vesicles, and is necessary for dopamine synthesis.
The study will elucidate the relation of depression and dopamine availability, their possible co-fluctuation
across adolescence, and the potential association of inflammatory markers with depression through dopamine
availability. Findings will have relevance to the pathophysiology, course, and treatment of depression.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10441702
- **Project number:** 1R01MH127014-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Erika E Forbes
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $777,514
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10441702

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10441702, Dopamine Availability and Developmental Pathways of Adolescent Depression and Anhedonia (1R01MH127014-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10441702. Licensed CC0.

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