Mood-induced changes on the Implicit Association Test in recovered depressed patients.
A mood induction paradigm was used to examine dysphoria-related changes in two types of cognitive processing in individuals who had previously experienced depression. Formerly depressed patients (n = 23) and never-depressed controls (n = 27) completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, a self-report measure of effortful processing, and performed the Implicit Association Test, an automatic-reaction time task that measures evaluative bias, before and after a negative-mood induction. The formerly depressed group showed both an increase in endorsement of dysfunctional attitudes and a more negative evaluative bias for self-relevant information after the induction, relative to controls--however, there was no association between the mood-linked changes observed on these two measures. The shift in evaluative bias shown by the formerly depressed group was similar to that seen in a group of 32 currently depressed individuals. These findings suggest that even a mild negative mood in formerly depressed individuals can reinstate some of the cognitive features observed in depression itself.
Gemar
M C
MC
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health,  Ontario, Canada.
Segal
Z V
ZV
Sagrati
S
S
Kennedy
S J
SJ
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020127:Recovery of Function; D014936:Word Association Tests
D000928:Antidepressive Agents