Dysphoric Mood, Thought Suppression and Cognitive Control in Recovered Depressed and Never-Depressed Individuals

Abstract

Background Research has shown that sad mood inductions (SMIs) have effects on cognition in depression-vulnerable samples (e.g., recovered depressed patients), but not in never-depressed individuals. A recent study however, found that an SMI followed by a brief period of suppressing negative thoughts affects subsequent information processing in never-depressed individuals, even while the sad mood had already dissipated. We investigated the relevance of this finding for depression, and also whether this effect would be robust against minor procedural variations. Method 32 recovered depressed and 32 never-depressed individuals underwent an SMI followed by a writing task during which either instructions to suppress negative thoughts or no instructions were given. Finally, participants completed a scrambled sentences task (SST). Results Recovered depressed participants unscrambled significantly more negative sentences on the SST than the control group. Thought suppression did not affect performance in either group. SST performance correlated with various aspects of cognitive reactivity. Conclusion A brief period of thought suppression during sadness does not have an effect on cognition in never-depressed nor in recovered depressed individuals.