Mood and Reward and Mental Health
Not stated
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
- Application deadline
- Year-round applications
About the project
About the Project We investigate a broad range of topics related to youth mental health, with a particular focus on depression, anhedonia, and reward processing. Using qualitative interviews, surveys, behavioural tasks, functional MRI (fMRI), and ecological momentary assessment (EMA), we examine how reward-related processes contribute to depression in young people. A central focus of our work is understanding how young people experience joy, motivation, and pleasure in everyday life, and how disruptions in these processes relate to anhedonia. We aim to advance knowledge about effective treatments for anhedonia and related depressive symptoms. Our research also explores the role of hormones and pharmacological interventions in reward functioning and mood. In addition, we investigate how broader psychosocial and environmental factors , including stigma, parenting, meaning in life, and climate change, influence depression and wellbeing in young people. We also welcome new and innovative research ideas related to youth mental health, particularly those focused on depression, anhedonia, and reward processing. BSc Psychology, MSc Psychology, and/or Neuroscience or Computational Modelling background.