Blunted cardiovascular reactivity during social reward anticipation in subclinical depression

- Effort mobilization during the anticipation of a social reward is assessed.
- Subclinically depressed participants show reduced cardiovascular reactivity.
- Subclinical depression is associated with impaired responsiveness to social rewards.
- Results extend research on monetary rewards.
- Results complement research on behavioral and neural measures.

The present study extends past research about reduced reward responsiveness in depression by assessing effort-related cardiovascular responses during anticipation of a social reward. Dysphoric (i.e., subclinically depressed) and nondysphoric participants worked on a cognitive task. Half the participants in each group expected the possibility to subscribe to a social exchange internet site. Effort mobilization during task performance was assessed by participants' cardiovascular reactivity. Confirming the predictions, nondysphoric participants in the social-reward condition had higher reactivity of pre-ejection period, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate, compared to the other three cells. In contrast, dysphoric participants' cardiovascular reactivity was generally low. These findings indicate that social-reward function is indeed impaired in subclinical depression. Implications for social punishment are discussed.