title: Attentional bias and general orienting processes in bipolar disorder.
abstract: Attentional biases for emotional stimuli and general orienting processes were examined in bipolar disorder, using a modified dot-probe task with a spatial cueing paradigm incorporated in it. Bipolar patients in a euthymic state (i.e., remission), bipolar patients in a mildly depressed state, and non-psychiatric controls participated. General orienting results showed that within the patient group as a whole, measures of depressed mood were positively associated with a relative inability to disengage attention. Attentional bias results showed that bipolar patients in a mildly depressed state, in comparison with controls, directed their attention away from depression-related words and positive words. The bias away from positive words was equally present in both patient groups and part of a trait effect, demonstrated by the comparison of patients in a euthymic state and controls. The bias away from depression-related words was mood state-dependent and within the patient group as a whole correlated negatively with measures of depressed mood. It is proposed that biases for emotional stimuli are related to the transition of mood states, characteristic for bipolar disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. E.Jongen@psychology.unimaas.nl <E.Jongen@psychology.unimaas.nl>
authors.forename: Ellen M M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Jongen
authors.forename: Fren T Y
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Smulders
authors.forename: Saskia M G
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ranson
authors.forename: Baer M G
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Arts
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Krabbendam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001288:Attention; D001332:Automatism / Q000523:psychology; D001364:Awareness; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009949:Orientation; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics