Dopamine and depression with loss of enjoyment in teens
Official title: Dopamine Availability and Developmental Pathways of Adolescent Depression and Anhedonia
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11145084 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how dopamine relates to mood and loss of enjoyment in adolescents aged 12–20.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,530,578 |
| NIH project number | 4RF1MH127014-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11145084 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Teens aged 12–20 who are experiencing depressive symptoms or trouble enjoying activities are the best candidates for this project.
✕Less likely to help
Children under 12, adults over 20, or people who cannot attend in-person imaging visits or tolerate scans are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit directly.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll be followed over several years to see how mood and pleasure change during the teen years. Researchers will use brain imaging to measure activity in reward circuits and scans that estimate dopamine availability, run behavioral tasks that test how you respond to rewards, and collect reports about your daily moods and experiences. The study may also measure biological signs of inflammation to see how they interact with dopamine and mood. You'll come to the University of Pittsburgh for repeated in-person visits so the team can map developmental pathways across ages.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help pinpoint biological targets and timing for better treatments or prevention of adolescent depression and anhedonia.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked dopamine and reward-circuit changes with adolescent depression, but long-term, multi-method studies like this are relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Forbes, Erika E — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Forbes, Erika E
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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.