title: Emotion processing bias and age of seizure onset among epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms.
abstract: The current study examined whether mood-congruent biases in emotion processing extend to epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms and the potentially moderating effects of age of seizure onset on these biases. In addition, we examined associations between depression (Beck Depression Inventory - 2nd Edition; BDI-II) and quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy - 10-item questionnaire; QOLIE-10). Data from 101 epilepsy patients were analyzed, including 61 females and 40 males. Measures included the Comprehensive Affect Testing System - Abbreviated (CATS-A), from which indices of mood-congruent bias were derived. A significant interaction between BDI-II raw scores and age of seizure onset was found for mood-congruent bias scores in the facial affect modality (β=-0.24, p<.03). Beck Depression Inventory - 2nd Edition raw scores were significantly and positively correlated with quality of life (QOLIE-10; r=.69, p<.01). Results of the current study show that epilepsy patients with an early age of seizure onset may be most at risk for mood-congruent biases when experiencing depressive symptoms and that such symptoms have real-world implications for quality of life for persons living with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA. jessegbrand@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jesse G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: Monica Rivera
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mindt
authors.forename: Sarah G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Schaffer
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Alper
authors.forename: Orrin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Devinsky
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Barr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D004644:Emotions; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires