The effect of noninvasive brain stimulation on anhedonia in patients with schizophrenia and depression: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Anhedonia is a transdiagnostic symptom found in patients with schizophrenia and depression. Current pharmacological interventions for anhedonia are unsatisfactory in a considerable proportion of patients. There has been growing interest in applying noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to patients with anhedonia. However, evidence for the efficacy of NIBS for anhedonia remain inconsistent. This study systematically identified all studies that measured anhedonia and applied NIBS in patients with schizophrenia or depression. We conducted a search using the various databases in English (PubMed, EBSCOHost (PsycInfo/PsycArticles), Web of Science) and Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform) languages, and reviewed original research articles on NIBS published from January 1989 to July 2023. Our search had identified 15 articles for quantitative synthesis, with three concerning schizophrenia samples, 11 concerning samples with depression, and one concerning both clinical samples. We conducted a meta‐analysis based on the 15 included studies, and the results suggested that NIBS could improve anhedonia symptoms in schizophrenia patients and patients with depression, with a medium‐to‐large effect size. Our findings are preliminary, given the limited number of included studies. Future NIBS research should measure anhedonia as a primary outcome and should recruit transdiagnostic samples.