Amotivational symptoms are observed in schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD).Effort-cost computation may be a potential contributor to amotivation transdiagnostically. This study examined effort-cost computation in these three diagnostic groups. This study recruited 141 outpatients (49 SCZ, 52 non-psychotic BD, and 40 non-psychotic MDD) and 57 healthy controls (HCs). We administered the Effort-Expenditure for Reward Task (EEfRT), which manipulated different levels of reward magnitude and probability relating to a high and low physical effort task. There were significant interactions between group and reward magnitude, group and reward probability, and group and expected value on the percentage of high-effort choices. SCZ, BD, and MDD patients made comparably fewer high-effort choices than HCs in the high-reward magnitude, high-reward probability, and highexpected-value conditions. Self-reported amotivation did not correlate with decision-making on the EEfRT. Our findings suggest that reduced effort expenditure for reward is a transdiagnostic phenotype in SCZ, BD, and MDD.

Deficit in decision-making has been found in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BD), respectively, while the common and distinct characteristics of this deficit among these patients are still unclear. The present study aimed to make a transdiagnostic comparison of the affective decision-making ability in patients with SCZ, MDD, and BD. In this study, 33 patients with SCZ, 23 patients with MDD, 29 patients with BD, and 34 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to assess the affective decision-making ability. The results showed that all three diagnostic groups tended to select the disadvantageous decks but not advantageous decks compared to HCs. For patients with SCZ, an excessive preference for the disadvantageous decks with larger-magnitude less frequent punishments (deck B) may be the main reason of the deficit in affective decision-making, while that in patients with MDD was a significantly decreased ability to choose advantageous decks on the whole but with larger-magnitude less frequent punishments (deck D). As regards patients with BD, the concurrence of more choices of deck B and fewer choices of deck D was the characteristic of the deficit in affective decision-making. Our findings suggest a common affective decision-making impairment in the context of multiple choices in patients with SCZ, MDD, and BD, while the underlying mechanisms of the impairment among these patients may be slightly different.

The present study validated the Chinese version of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) in a group of patients with mental disorders. The results replicated the four-factor structure of the ACIPS in a Chinese setting and showed good discrimination validity.