Agomelatine: an agent against anhedonia and abulia?

Anhedonia and abulia are syndromes often presented as components of various psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, stroke, multiple sclerosis and brain injury. On the basis of the hypothesis that alterations in the dopaminergic motivational system might be involved in the etiopathogenesis of these clinical phenomena, the antidepressant agomelatine is a highly interesting candidate substance for their treatment because of its indirect dopaminergic effects resulting from its melatoninergic and partial anti-serotoninergic properties. Systematic clinical studies are urgently needed to test the hypothesis that agomelatine might be a clinically useful and versatile anti-anhedonic and/or anti-abulic substance.