Anticipatory pleasure deficits are closely correlated with negative symptoms in schizophrenia, and may be found in both clinical and subclinical populations along the psychosis continuum. Prospection, which is an important component of anticipatory pleasure, is impaired in individuals with social anhedonia (SocAnh). In this study, we examined the neural correlates of envisioning positive future events in individuals with SocAnh.

Forty-nine individuals with SocAnh and 33 matched controls were recruited to undergo functional MRI scanning, during which they were instructed to simulate positive or neutral future episodes according to cue words. Two stages of prospection were distinguished: construction and elaboration.

Reduced activation at the caudate and the precuneus when prospecting positive (v. neutral) future events was observed in individuals with SocAnh. Furthermore, compared with controls, increased functional connectivity between the caudate and the inferior occipital gyrus during positive (v. neutral) prospection was found in individuals with SocAnh. Both groups exhibited a similar pattern of brain activation for the construction v. elaboration contrast, regardless of the emotional context.

Our results provide further evidence on the neural mechanism of anticipatory pleasure deficits in subclinical individuals with SocAnh and suggest that altered cortico-striatal circuit may play a role in anticipatory pleasure deficits in these individuals.

预期快乐缺陷与精神分裂症的阴性症状密切相关，并且可能在精神病连续体的临床和亚临床人群中发现。预期是预期快乐的重要组成部分，但在社交快感缺乏症 (SocAnh) 患者中，预期会受到损害。在这项研究中，我们检查了 SocAnh 患者预见积极的未来事件的神经相关性。

49 名 SocAnh 个体和 33 名匹配对照者被招募进行功能性 MRI 扫描，在此期间，他们被指示根据提示词模拟积极或中性的未来事件。勘探分为两个阶段：构建阶段和细化阶段。

在 SocAnh 患者中观察到，当预测积极的（相对于中性的）未来事件时，尾状核和楔前叶的激活减少。此外，与对照组相比，SocAnh 患者在正向（与中性）前视期间尾状核和枕下回之间的功能连接增加。两组人在构建v时都表现出相似的大脑激活模式。精细对比，无论情感背景如何。

我们的研究结果为亚临床 SocAnh 个体预期快乐缺陷的神经机制提供了进一步的证据，并表明皮质纹状体回路的改变可能在这些个体的预期快乐缺陷中发挥作用。