In major depressive disorder, a person experiences -

The correct answer is Option (1) → Loss of interest or pleasure in activities

Option (1) Loss of interest or pleasure in activities — Correct. Major depressive disorder is defined as a period of depressed mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, together with other symptoms such as change in body weight, sleep problems, tiredness, unclear thinking, and thoughts of death and suicide.

Option (2) A sense of detachment from others — Incorrect. Withdrawing from others is listed among the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (social withdrawal), and a sense of being separated from self and reality marks depersonalisation/derealisation. It is not the defining feature of major depression.

Option (3) Deterioration in motor abilities — Incorrect. A depressed person may show greatly slowed behaviour, but the motor abilities themselves do not deteriorate. Odd movements and motionless states are the psychomotor symptoms of schizophrenia.

Option (4) A sense of detachment from the world of work — Incorrect. Interest is lost in most activities, not in work alone; a detachment from work only is not how the disorder is defined.