The negativity bias predicts response rate to Behavioral Activation for depression

Abstract

Background and Objectives This treatment study investigated the extent to which asymmetric dimensions of affective responding, specifically the positivity offset and the negativity bias, at pretreatment altered the rate of response to Behavioral Activation treatment for depression. Method Forty-one depressed participants were enrolled into 16 weekly sessions of BA. An additional 36 lifetime healthy participants were evaluated prospectively for 16 weeks to compare affective responding between healthy and remitted patients at post-treatment. All participants were assessed at Weeks 0, 8 and 16 using repeated measures, involving a structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders, questionnaires, and a computerized task designed to measure affective responses to unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant images. Results The negativity bias at pre-treatment predicted the rate of response to BA, while the positivity offset did not. Limitations Only one treatment condition was used in this study and untreated depressed participants were not enrolled, limiting our ability to compare the effect of BA. Conclusions Baseline negativity bias may serve as a signal for patients to engage in and benefit from the goal-directed BA strategies, thereby accelerating rate of response.

Intensified emotion perception in depression: Differences in physiological arousal and subjective perceptions

“…Multifactorial models of mental disorders emphasize the importance of the way we deal with stress as one vital factor that determines psychological health or sickness (Nemeroff and Vale, 2005). Since depressed individuals have been shown to exhibit a negativity bias (Bourke et al, 2010;Gollan et al, 2016), i.e., to selectively emphasize and better remember negative information (Ridout et al, 2003;Watkins et al, 1996) one could assume that this bias leads them to perceive negative information as more stressful and respond to it in an amplified manner as compared to non-depressed individuals. Such an intensified reaction might consequently lead to an elevated stress level in depressed individuals.…”

Comparison of psychiatric disturbances in patients with multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica

“…Images were presented in a pseudorandom order (counterbalanced for participants) for 4 seconds with a fixation period of 0.5 seconds before and after the presentation. [13] During the fixation period, participants were instructed to look at the fixation point in the center of the screen, which was then replaced by an image. Participants rated the valance as positive or negative using a 5-point Likert scale on a 5 × 5 evaluative space grid with positivity measured on the x-axis and negativity on the y-axis ranging from (0) not at all to (4) = extremely positive/negative.…”

“…[12] PO and NB are independent of personality trait, stable over time, generalizable to various stimuli, and a useful predictor of behavioral therapy outcome in depressed patients. [13] HRV, the change in the time interval between successive heartbeats, is an index of parasympathetic tone, and is associated with various psychophysiological traits including cognition, emotions, and social behaviors [14] . Given the non-invasive nature, low-cost, and ease of data collection, HRV is an accessible and feasible measure of physiological parameters for various neuropsychiatric disorders.…”