Attentional control in depression: A translational affective neuroscience approach

Cognitive control moderates the association between stress and rumination

“…Lissnyder et al, in press-a; Whitmer & Banich, 2007) as well as emotional material (e.g., De Lissnyder et al, 2010;De Lissnyder et al, in press-b;De Lissnyder et al, submitted;Joormann, 2006;Joormann & Gotlib, 2008;Joormann et al, 2010). Our findings indicate that the tendency to ruminate in response to stress in an unselected sample is related to impaired cognitive control specifically for emotional information.…”

“…At the theoretical level, this study adds to a growing literature showing that impaired cognitive control is related to rumination (e.g., De Lissnyder et al, 2010;De Lissnyder et al, in press-a;De Lissnyder et al, in press-b;De Lissnyder et al, submitted;Joormann, 2006;Joormann et al, 2010;Joormann & Gotlib, 2008;Lau et al, 2007;Whitmer & Banich, 2007).…”

“…That is, a more precise understanding of the cognitive impairments in depression may in the future allow to examine its precise role in the pathophysiology of depression and potential ways to remediate such problems (De Raedt, Koster, & Joormann, 2010). Several existing (cognitive behaviour therapy; Clark & Beck, in press) as well as new interventions (cognitive training regimes; MacLeod, Koster, & Fox, 2009;Siegle, Ghinassi, & Thase, 2007) strengthen cognitive control and may reduce rumination and risk for depression.…”

“…Therefore, Koster et al (2011) argued that impaired cognitive control is a risk factor for prolonged rumination in confrontation with stressors and a negative mood state. Indeed, rumination is related to impaired cognitive control when processing nonemotional information (Davis & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000;De Lissnyder, Derakshan, De Raedt, & Koster, in press-a;Whitmer & Banich, 2007) as well as emotional information (De Lissnyder, Koster, Derakshan, & De Raedt, 2010;De Lissnyder, Koster, & De Raedt, in press-b;Joormann, 2006;Joormann & Gotlib, 2008;Joormann et al, 2010;Lau, Christensen, Hawley, Gemar, & Segal, 2007). Previous research showed that particularly depressive brooding was related to the cognitive control impairments.…”

Executive Control of Emotional Processing: A Set-Shifting Task

“…Traditionally, the focus on executive functions has been motivated by the important implications of these processes for multitasking, solving complex problems, etc. More recently there has been an increasing interest in executive functions' role in dealing with emotions, particularly in relation to negative stimuli (De Raedt, Koster, & Joormann, 2010) and the control of recurrent negative self-referential thoughts (Koster, De Lissnyder, Derakshan, & De Raedt, 2011). The traditional tests of executive functions that are most frequently applied in neuropsychological practice and research, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), ColorWord Interference (Stroop), and Trail Making Test, include stimuli that are objectively free of emotional content.…”