Attentional bias for negative, positive, and threat words in current and remitted depression

Elgersma, Hermien; Koster, Ernst H. W.; Tuijl, Lonneke A. van; Hoekzema, Albert; Penninx, Brenda W.J.H.; Bockting, Claudi; Jong, Peter J. de

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0205154

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…To explain the absence of AB, we compared this study to previously published studies relying on an exogenous cueing task with long SOA (> 750 ms) that were conducted among individuals with depression. The results, effect sizes, and methodological characteristics of the five studies are reported in Table 1 [14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the two types of AB (i.e., difficulty disengaging attention from moodcongruent information and reduced maintenance of attention to positive information) have been observed in clinically and subclinically depressed individuals but not in non-depressed individuals [11,12]. On the other hand, a few studies failed to report these ABs in people with MDD or dysphoria compared to non-depressed individuals [13,14]. To help us to move forward regarding these different results, we examined previously published studies relying on an exogenous cueing task with long SOA (> 750 ms) conducted among individuals with depression (see Table 1) 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, prior studies often comprised samples of undergraduate students, and only a few studies included adults (e.g. [14]). The main goals were twofold.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attentional biases in depression: Relation to disorder severity, rumination, and anhedonia

Krings¹,

Heeren²,

Fontaine³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Introduction: According to cognitive models of depression, selective attentional biases (ABs) for mood-congruent information are core vulnerability factors of depression maintenance. However, findings concerning the presence of these biases in depression are mixed. This study aims to clarify the presence of these ABs among individuals with clinical and subclinical depression. Method: We compared three groups based on a semi-structured diagnostic interview and a depressive symptoms scale (BDI-II): 34 individuals with major depressive disorder (clinically depressed); 35 with a dysphoric mood but without the criteria of major depressive disorder (i.e., subclinically depressed), and 26 never been depressed individuals. We examined AB for sad and happy materials in three modified versions of the exogenous cueing task using scenes, facial expressions, and words. Brooding, anhedonia, and anxiety were also evaluated. Results: In contrast to our hypotheses, there were no ABs for negative or positive information, regardless of the task and the groups. Neither the association between AB toward negative information and brooding nor the one between AB away from positive stimuli and anhedonia was significant. Bayes factors analyses revealed that the present pattern of findings does not result from a lack of statistical power.Discussion: Our results raise questions about how common AB is in depression. From a theoretical point of view, because individuals with depression did not exhibit AB, our results also seemingly challenge the claim that AB figures prominently in the maintenance of depression. We believe the present null results to be particularly useful for future meta-research in the field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attentional biases in depression: Relation to disorder severity, rumination, and anhedonia

Krings¹,

Heeren²,

Fontaine³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Second, a wider range of attack stimuli was used. Individuals could well differ in what kind of stimuli evoke threat-related processes ( Elgersma et al, 2018 ; Goldin, Manber, Hakimi, Canli, & Gross, 2009 ; Schulz, Mothes-Lasch, & Straube, 2013 ). It may therefore be useful to know whether a more varied set of different types of stimuli, versus only variations of faces, can be used as the predicted category.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipated attack slows responses in a cued virtual attack emotional Sternberg Task

Gladwin

Vink

2021

Eur. J. Psychol.

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Threatening stimuli have varying effects, including reaction time (RT) increase in working memory tasks. This could reflect disruption of working memory or, alternatively, a reversible state of freezing. In the current series of experiments, reversible slowing due to anticipated threat was studied using the cued Virtual Attack Emotional Sternberg Task (cVAEST). In this task visually neutral cues indicate whether a future virtual attack could or could not occur during the maintenance period of a Sternberg task. Three studies (N = 47, 40, and 40, respectively) were performed by healthy adult participants online. The primary hypothesis was that the cVAEST would evoke anticipatory slowing. Further, the studies aimed to explore details of this novel task, in particular the interval between the cue and probe stimuli and the memory set size. In all studies it was found that threat anticipation slowed RTs on the working memory task. Further, Study 1 (memory set size 3) showed a decrease in RT when the attack occurred over all Cue Stimulus Intervals (CSIs). In Study 2 a minimal memory set of one item was used, under which circumstances RTs following attacks were only faster shortly after cue presentation (CSI 200 and 500 ms), when RTs were high for both threat and safe cues. Study 3 replicated results of Study 2 with more fine-grained time intervals. The results confirm that anticipation of attack stimuli can reversibly slow responses on an independent working memory task. The cVAEST may provide a useful method to study such threat-induced response slowing.

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“…Greater and prolonged allocation of attention to negative emotional stimuli is a key emotion regulation problem in depression referred to as a negativity bias (32)(33)(34)(35). Negativity bias is thought to be a risk factor of depression and contribute to development and maintenance of depression and anxiety (36). Executive functions are especially vulnerable in depression.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threat-Modulation of Executive Functions—A Novel Biomarker of Depression?

et al. 2021

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Background: Alterations in executive functions, emotion regulation, and their interaction are common concomitants of depression. Executive dysfunction frequently lingers after treatment, has adverse effects on daily life, and predisposes to recurrence of depression. Yet, sensitive measures of executive function for reliable assessment of cognitive outcomes are still lacking in clinical practice. To better understand the impact of depression and its most effective treatment, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), on cognition, we assessed executive functions pre- and post-ECT and whether objective measures reflecting alterations in emotion–executive function interaction correlate with depression severity or with cognitive outcome.Methods: Executive functions were assessed in 21 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) before and after ECT using subjective measures from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Adult version (BRIEF-A) and objective cognitive performance measures derived from computer-based test of executive function, Executive Reaction Time (RT) Test. In addition, we created novel indices reflecting emotional modulation of cognitive performance by subtracting different performance measures in the context of neutral distractors from those in the context of threat-related distractors. We correlated these indices with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and BRIEF-A scores.Results: Depression was significantly alleviated, and executive functions improved post-ECT, as seen in reduced BDI scores, BRIEF-A scores, and number of errors in Executive RT Test. Pre-ECT BDI scores correlated with threat modulation of RT (tmRT) and threat modulation of working memory (tmWM). Post-ECT tmRT correlated with several Behavioral Regulation scales and tmWM with several Metacognition scales of BRIEF-A.Conclusion: While caution is warranted, results from both subjective and objective measures suggest that ECT significantly improves executive functions and emotion regulation along with alleviation of depression. Novel indices derived from threat modulation of executive function and working memory show promise as objective biomarkers of depression severity pre-ECT and cognitive outcome post-ECT with potential for guiding depression treatments.

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Attentional bias for negative, positive, and threat words in current and remitted depression

Cited by 30 publications

References 58 publications

Attentional biases in depression: Relation to disorder severity, rumination, and anhedonia

Attentional biases in depression: Relation to disorder severity, rumination, and anhedonia

Anticipated attack slows responses in a cued virtual attack emotional Sternberg Task

Threat-Modulation of Executive Functions—A Novel Biomarker of Depression?

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