Outbreak of COVID-19 altered the relationship between memory bias and depressive degree in nonclinical depression

Abstract

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased concern about people's mental health under such serious stressful situation, especially depressive symptoms. Cognitive biases have been related to depression degree in previous studies. Here, we used behavioral and brain imaging analysis, to determine if and how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the relationship between current cognitive biases and future depression degree and the underlying neural basis in a nonclinical depressed population. An out-expectation result showed that a more negative memory bias was associated with a greater decrease in future depressive indices in nonclinical depressed participants during the COVID-19 pandemic, which might be due to decreased social stress. These data enhance our understanding of how the depressive degree of nonclinical depressed populations will change during the COVID-19 pandemic and also provide support for social distancing policies from a psychological perspective.

A behavioral protocol to assess the relationship between three cognitive biases and future depression severity

“…Then the next trial begins. Note: Only sad and neutral faces are used as stimuli in the VST task in this protocol since our primary interest is negative memory bias in Zhang et al. (2021) .…”

“…This protocol can also be used in other contexts, including cognitive bias-related studies and depression-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al. (2021) .…”

“…For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al. (2021) .…”

One common enemy, a pandemic, uniting interdisciplinary teams

“…As soon as SARS-CoV-2 was discovered, research groups worldwide started probing its biology ( Kumar et al., 2020 ; Fox et al., 2020 ), while others developed diagnostic tests ( Kilic et al., 2020 ) or investigated public-health measures to control it ( Kilic et al., 2020 ; Fox et al., 2020 ). Scientists raced to find treatment strategies ( Kumar et al., 2020 ; Gorgulla et al., 2021 ), and others assessed the consequences of the pandemic on mental health ( Zhang et al., 2021 ), which affected the personal and professional lives of millions. Many of those who were not trained virologists or epidemiologists dove into interdisciplinary collaborations to further understand the molecular mechanisms of the disease and the prolonged impact of this worldwide phenomenon ( Zhang et al., 2021 ; López Prol J, 2020 ).…”

“…Scientists raced to find treatment strategies ( Kumar et al., 2020 ; Gorgulla et al., 2021 ), and others assessed the consequences of the pandemic on mental health ( Zhang et al., 2021 ), which affected the personal and professional lives of millions. Many of those who were not trained virologists or epidemiologists dove into interdisciplinary collaborations to further understand the molecular mechanisms of the disease and the prolonged impact of this worldwide phenomenon ( Zhang et al., 2021 ; López Prol J, 2020 ). At the same time, many researchers across career stages dealt with uncertainties, project delays, loss of family members and friends, and careers put on hold due to lockdowns ( Muzzio, 2020 ; Fu et al., 2021 ).…”