Abstract
The high recurrence rate in depression suggests that there are specific factors that increase an individual's risk for developing repeated episodes of this disorder. One factor implicated in the literature is biases in processing negative information, such as sustained attention and elaboration of negative material versus positive material and biased autobiographical memory for negative versus positive events. Recent empirical evidence and theories suggest that these negative cognitive biases appear to be mediated by the impaired ability to exert inhibitory control over the access (resistance to distractor interference) and removal (resistance to proactive interference) of irrelevant negative information in working memory. The aim of this chapter is to review event related potential (ERP) data on emotion information processing in depression and integrate it with that derived from behavioural and neuroimaging investigations. We specially focus on attention and memory biases, deficits in working memory control and emotional regulation. Based on this review, we suggest that interventions that strengthen top-down cognitive control may help depressed patients to (a) disengage from negative cognitions and (b) enhance attendance to positive stimuli. Together, this may serve to regulate their depressed mood and reduce vulnerability to relapse. We also argue that incorporating ERP into clinical interventions with depressed patients may aid clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment prognosis and evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Beyond the lab |
| Subtitle of host publication | Applications of cognitive research in memory and learning |
| Publisher | Nova Science Publishers Inc |
| Pages | 109-145 |
| Number of pages | 37 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-61324-845-4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |