About this episode

This episode explores how adolescents learn from rewards and its implications for depression risk and mental health outcomes.

In this episode of the Mind the Kids podcast, we explore how adolescents learn from rewards and what this means for depression risk and mental health outcomes. Drawing on longitudinal research from the Temple Adolescent Development Study, our guest breaks down the complex science of reward processing, anhedonia, and reinforcement learning in young people. Anhedonia—defined as a reduced ability to experience pleasure—is a key symptom across multiple mental health conditions, including depression, and is linked to poorer long-term outcomes. But what actually drives these changes in reward responsiveness during adolescence? And how do differences in learning from rewards and punishments shape emotional development? We discuss cutting-edge findings using the Iowa Gambling Task and computational modelling to better understand how reward learning evolves between ages 9 and 17. The conversation highlights how adolescents may fine-tune their learning strategies over time, and why subtle differences—particularly in young people at higher risk of depression due to parental history—could have meaningful implications. This episode is essential listening for clinicians, researchers, and…

Topics covered

• adolescent development
• reward processing
• anhedonia
• depression risk
• mental health outcomes
• reinforcement learning

Keywords

• adolescents
• reward learning
• anhedonia
• depression
• mental health
• Iowa Gambling Task
• longitudinal research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Temple Adolescent Development Study

Books & works: JCPP paper

More episodes of 'Mind the Kids': an ACAMH podcast

• S9 Ep9: Are we measuring what matters? Life impact, functioning, and quality of life in youth mental health - A Mind the Kids podcast · July 8, 2026 · 37 min
• S9 Ep8: Can schools prevent childhood anxiety with parent-led CBT? - Mind the Kids podcast · July 1, 2026 · 39 min
• S9 Ep7: Similar vocabulary but different socioeconomic status, means unequal educational outcomes - Mind the Kids podcast · June 24, 2026 · 26 min
• S9 Ep6: Why sleep is at the core of children's mental health - Mind the Kids podcast · June 17, 2026 · 26 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the 'Mind the Kids': an ACAMH podcast podcast page.