The dot-probe task is a common task to assess attentional bias toward different stimuli and how groups differ (e.g., attentional bias in anxiety disorders). However, measuring reaction time has been suggested to be unreliable. Neuroimaging methods such as fMRI were shown to be more reliable in assessing attentional bias, but fMRI has poor temporal resolution and therefore cannot assess timing of attention. ERPs have been used to examine the time course of attentional bias. Although ERP research may be more reliable than reaction time, there have been inconsistencies in the literature. This review systematically searched for articles that used the dot-probe task with facial expressions and measured neural correlates with ERP. We found that some of the inconsistencies might be the cause of methodological differences (e.g., timing of stimuli), differences in emotional expression, and/or sample differences (e.g., sex, age, etc.). Suggestions on how future research could address the issues presented in this review were discussed.

Event-related potentials of attentional bias toward faces in the dot-probe task: A systematic review.

Social cognition is the ability to identify, perceive and interpret socially relevant information from the external world. It is an important adaptive trait, but is frequently affected in major depressive disorder by a mood-congruent interpretive bias. The present review examined the existing body of literature to determine (i) the impact social cognitive deficits in depression have on psychosocial functioning; and (ii) the utility of psychotropic, psychological and procedural interventions employed to target these deficits. A total of 107 studies met inclusion criteria for review. Social cognitive performance was found to adversely impact depressed patients' psychosocial functioning across the key domains of general cognitive functioning and quality of life. Secondly, many current therapies were found to have a normalising effect on the social cognitive abilities of subjects with major depressive disorder, both at a neural and functional level. In particular, certain anti-depressant medications corrected facial affect recognition deficits, while several psychotherapeutic approaches improved impairments in theory of mind and negative interpretive bias.

A systematic review of the impact of social cognitive deficits on psychosocial functioning in major depressive disorder and opportunities for therapeutic intervention

Negative attentional bias has been well established in depression. However, there is very limited knowledge about whether this depression-relevant negative bias exits during initial attentional allocation, as compared with the converging evidence for the negative bias during sustained attention engagement. This study used both behavioral and electrophysiological measures to examine the initial attention engagement in depressed patients influenced by mood-congruent and mood-incongruent emotions. The dot-probe task was performed with a 100-ms exposure time of the emotional cues (emotional and neutral face pairs). The behavioral results showed that the patients responded faster following valid compared with invalid sad facial cues. Electrophysiological indexes in the frame of the two-stage model of attentional modulation by emotions provided cognitive mechanisms in distinct attention engagement stages: (1) the patients exhibited reduced P1 amplitudes following validly than invalidly happy cues than did the healthy controls, indicating a positive attenuation at an early stage of automatic attention orientation; and (2) the patients exhibited enhanced whereas the controls showed reduced P3 amplitudes following validly than invalidly sad cues, suggesting a mood-congruent negative potentiation in depression at the later stage of top-down voluntary control of attention. Depressed patients show a negative bias in early attentional allocation, reflected by preferred engagement with mood-congruent and diminished engagement with positive emotional cues/stimuli.

/pdf/negative-bias-during-early-attentional-engagement-in-major-4j542xy26t.pdf

Negative Bias During Early Attentional Engagement in Major Depressive Disorder as Examined Using a Two-Stage Model: High Sensitivity to Sad but Bluntness to Happy Cues

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental disorder with affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. Mood congruent cognitive biases, including a negative attentional bias, are important for development, maintenance, and recurrence of depressive symptoms. MDD is associated with maladaptive changes in the biological stress systems such as dysregulations of central noradrenergic alpha2-receptors in the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system, which can affect cognitive processes including attention. Patients with adverse childhood experiences (ACE), representing severe stress experiences in early life, might be particularly affected. With an experimental design, we aimed to gain further knowledge about the role of noradrenergic activity for attentional bias in MDD patients with and without ACE. We tested the effect of increased noradrenergic activity induced by the alpha2-receptor blocker yohimbine on attentional bias in a placebo-controlled repeated measures design. Four groups were included as follows: MDD patients with and without ACE, and healthy participants with and without ACE (total N = 128, all without antidepressant medication). A significant effect of MDD on attentional bias scores of sad face pictures (p = .037) indicated a facilitated attentional processing of sad face pictures in MDD patients (compared to non-MDD individuals). However, we found no such effect of ACE. For attentional bias of happy face pictures, we found no significant effects of MDD and ACE. Even though a higher increase of blood pressure and salivary alpha-amylase following yohimbine compared to placebo indicated successful noradrenergic stimulation, we found no significant effects of yohimbine on attentional bias of happy or sad face pictures. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a negative attentional bias in MDD patients. However, as we found no effect of ACE or yohimbine, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which ACE increases the risk of MDD and to understand the biological basis of the MDD-related negative attentional bias.

/pdf/attentional-bias-in-individuals-with-depression-and-adverse-2vyythubyh.pdf

Attentional bias in individuals with depression and adverse childhood experiences: influence of the noradrenergic system?

Background: All thyroid states are associated with psychiatric manifestation, be it hypothyroid, hyperthyroid or euthyroid state. Depression is more severe in hypothyroidism. Aims and objectives: The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adequate antidepressant dose of escitalopram on thyroid function in patients with depression of euthyroid state over a period of six weeks and the relationship between thyroid function and depression. Material and methods: The study was conducted at Government Medical College Srinagar and associated hospitals from May 2013 to April 2016. The study sample comprised of 191 patients diagnosed with first episode depression. The evaluation of patients was done by using pro-forma to gather information on parameters pertaining to mental health/ illness also physical indices. DSM-5 diagnostic criteria have been used for diagnosing the patients having depression. Diagnosis was confirmed by the consultant in the department. Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAM-D) has been used for assessing the severity of depression. Baseline thyroid function test was performed in these patients and these patients were given approved/adequate dose of escitalopram. Results: The mean age was 35.3 years and males were 55.5%. Only 19.9% have family history with psychiatric illness and 11.5% have family history of thyroid disorder. HAMD score before treatment was 13.34 ± 3.080 (p<0.001) and after first follow up 11.24 ± 2.742 (p<0.001) and after second follow up was 9.96 ± 2.33 (p<0.001) and TSH before treatment 3.45 ± 1.52 (p<0.001) and after first follow up 4.55 ± 1.69 (p<0.001), and after second follow up 4.53 ± 1.59 (p=0.791). The thyroid changes in first and second follow up was negligible 54.5% and 53.9% and changes within thyroid range 30.4% and 45% and changes within subclinical range was 15.2% and 1% respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that escitalopram was not associated with clinically significant changes in thyroid function in normal thyroid function patients with depression. However, results suggest that patients with normal thyroid function, who were treated with escitalopram, are more susceptible to minor changes.

The Effect of Escitalopram on Thyroid Function in Patients with Depression: An experience from Government Medical College Srinagar and Associated Hospitals

Treatment with escitalopram improves the attentional bias toward negative facial expressions in patients with major depressive disorders

Objective: To investigate the effect of treatment with Escitalopram on attentional bias in PD using an ERP dotprobe task of facial expression. Method: Subjects included 25 patients with PD, and 25 controls. Psychopathology was rated in patients with the HAMA at baseline, after 8-week treatments with Escitalopram. EEG was recorded at Oz when participants perform dot-probe task of facial expression. BESA 5.1.8 was used to perform data analysis. Result: It showed that 8 week treatments of Escitalopram decreased HAMA scores; patients at baseline showed an attention bias towards threat, however, after 8 week treatments, no significant bias towards happy faces was observed for either group. Patients had a more pronounced (more negative) C1 amplitude than controls in response to the angry–neutral face pairs, however, no differences between patients after 8 week treatments and controls were observed. There was no significant correlation between changes in C1 amplitudes and changes in HAMA scores before and after 8 week treatments of Escitalopram.

/pdf/effect-of-escitalopram-on-attentional-bias-in-panic-disorder-1bx2e566hx.pdf

Effect of Escitalopram on Attentional Bias in Panic Disorder an Event-RelatedPotential Study

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Treatment with escitalopram improves the attentional bias toward negative facial expressions in patients with major depressive disorders

Effect of Escitalopram on Attentional Bias in Panic Disorder an Event-RelatedPotential Study