Could brain inflammation cause loss of pleasure and motivation?
Official title: Probing the Nexus: Unraveling Neuroinflammation's Link to Anhedonia
Funded at Auburn University at Auburn · NIH-11419052 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at whether blood and brain inflammation are tied to reduced pleasure and motivation in teens and adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Auburn University at Auburn NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Auburn, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | November 13, 2024 |
| Project end | October 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $77,000 |
| NIH project number | 7R03MH138838-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11419052 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The most relevant people are adolescents and adults who experience low pleasure or motivation (anhedonia) and whose health or imaging data are included in large research databases.
✕Less likely to help
People without symptoms of anhedonia or those looking for immediate clinical treatment would not directly benefit from this secondary-data project.
What this research studies
This project uses existing health and brain imaging data from large studies of adults (UK Biobank) and adolescents (ABCD) to explore why some people experience anhedonia. Researchers will apply a specialized MRI method (diffusion basis spectrum imaging) to search for signs of neuroinflammation in brain reward regions and compare those signals with blood inflammation markers and symptom reports. The team will examine both single-timepoint and follow-up data to see whether neuroinflammation helps explain changes in anhedonia over time. Because this is a secondary analysis of existing datasets, no new scans or clinic visits are being requested from patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal inflammation-driven pathways behind anhedonia and point toward new treatment strategies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked blood inflammation to anhedonia, but imaging of brain inflammation—especially using longitudinal approaches—is relatively new and not yet widely confirmed.
Where this research is happening
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Auburn University at Auburn
Auburn, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Wei — Auburn University at Auburn
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Wei
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.