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Relevant in this case is the fact that eating disorders are highly comorbid with several neuropsychiatric conditions, including alcohol use disorder. Therefore, dysregulated eating as a result of a hedonic/binge-like intake of hyper-palatable food may impact alcohol drinking behavior. Furthermore, neuroendocrine peptides, traditionally considered to regulate appetite and energy homeostasis, also control the intake and reinforcing properties of alcohol and drugs of abuse. Highly palatable foods can provoke maladaptive feeding behavior, which in turn disrupts normal homeostatic regulation resulting in numerous health consequences. In addition, energy/food intake is modified by various external factors ( e.g., palatability, food availability, social and environmental triggers). These findings are consistent with preclinical data highlighting links between stress and anhedonia, and offer promising insights into potential mechanisms linking stress to depression.A complex interplay of peripheral and central signaling mechanisms within the body of an organism maintains energy homeostasis. Additionally, PSS scores predicted reduced reward responsiveness even after controlling for general distress and anxiety symptoms. In both Study 1 (n=88) and Study 2 (n=80), participants with high PSS scores displayed blunted reward responsiveness and reported elevated anhedonic symptoms. Decreased reward responsiveness (i.e., the participants' propensity to modulate behavior as a function of reward) was used as an operational measure of hedonic capacity. Hedonic capacity was objectively assessed using a signal-detection task based on a differential reinforcement schedule. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measured the degree to which participants appraised their daily life as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overwhelming. As an initial step towards better understanding the association between stress and anhedonia, the present study tested, in two independent samples, whether individuals reporting elevated stress exhibit decreased hedonic capacity. Preclinical studies suggest that stress exerts depressogenic effects by impairing hedonic capacity in humans, however, the precise mechanisms linking stress and depression are largely unknown.