Verbal Memory Impairments Influence Social Functioning Through Anhedonia: Evidence from a Transdiagnostic UK Biobank Sample

BackgroundAnhedonia, defined as a reduced capacity for pleasure or motivation for reward, is a core transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology and a key determinant of social functioning. Cognitive dysfunction, particularly verbal memory impairment, may contribute to anhedonia by reducing anticipatory pleasure, in turn decreasing social functioning. This study examined whether anhedonia mediates the relationship between verbal memory and social functioning in a large, population-based sample, and whether this pathway varies by sex, lifetime psychiatric history, or transdiagnostic symptom dimensions.MethodsParticipants (N=8,576) were drawn from the UK Biobank. Verbal memory was assessed using the Paired Associate Learning test, anhedonia by frequency of disinterest/little pleasure, and social functioning by frequency of social visits. Participants with and without lifetime psychiatric diagnoses were matched on age, sex, and Townsend Deprivation Index. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses tested indirect effects of verbal memory on social functioning through anhedonia and the role of sex, lifetime psychiatric diagnosis, and Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) symptom dimensions (internalizing, externalizing, psychosis).ResultsAnhedonia significantly mediated the association between verbal memory and social functioning (indirect effect = 0.0024, p < 0.001), whereas the alternative model (verbal memory as moderator) was not significant. The mediation was stronger among males, individuals with psychiatric diagnoses, and those with internalizing symptoms.ConclusionsFindings support a transdiagnostic cognitive-symptom-function pathway linking verbal memory deficits to poorer social functioning through anhedonia. These results highlight memory-focused cognitive interventions as potential targets to enhance motivation and social outcomes across dimensional and transdiagnostic contexts.