title: Categorical and dimensional reports of experienced affect to emotion-inducing pictures in depression.
abstract: Self-reported affect to positive and negative emotional pictures was contrasted in people with major depressive disorder (MDD) and never-depressed control participants (n = 25 in each group). The results revealed significant differences in response to positive images (reduced arousal, less pleasant valence, decreased happiness, increased sadness) in MDD but no clear group differences in response to negative stimuli. Extending earlier findings of reduced responsiveness to positive, but not negative, stimuli in MDD (D. M. Sloan, M. E. Strauss, S. W. Quirk, & M. Satajovik, 1997; D. M. Sloan, M. E. Strauss, & K. L. Wisner, 2001), the data indicate that blunted response to positive stimuli is found when both categorical and dimensional ratings are elicited. Further, the data replicate earlier findings of elevated sadness reports to positive stimuli (J. Rottenberg, K. L. Kasch, J. J. Gross, & I. H. Gotlib, 2002), which may reflect broader difficulties in regulating emotions in MDD.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, United Kingdom. barney.dunn@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Barnaby D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dalgleish
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Rhodri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cusack
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ogilvie
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index