Anhedonia in anorexia nervosa: a narrative review

Anhedonia, defined as the loss of pleasure or a lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, is associated with depression, schizophrenia and also anorexia nervosa (AN). The inability to experience pleasure has its biological underpinnings in the mesolimbic dopamine system and is strongly implicated in the risk for a variety of addictive behaviors. In this article we describe the main questionnaires for the assessment of anhedonia and review the literature evidence regarding anhedonic symptomatology in patients diagnosed with AN. This narrative review, in agreement with previous literature, sheds light on the importance of considering anhedonia as a phenotypic biomarker and suggests implementing the development of targeted treatments.