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Further evidence of attention bias for negative information in late life depression
Author(s) -
Broomfield Niall M.,
Davies Rachel,
MacMahon Kenneth,
Ali Farah,
Cross Susan M. B.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1655
Subject(s) - stroop effect , psychology , dementia , cognition , anxiety , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , disease , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives Pilot research using the manual (card based) emotional Stroop paradigm shows depressed elders selectively attend negative words, whereas dementia patients do not. The present study aimed to confirm this effect, using a more controlled, computerised, emotional Stroop paradigm, and accounting for co‐morbid anxiety. Method Nineteen depressed (DEP) and twenty non depressed control participants (CON) completed a computerised Emotional Stroop task. This task involves colour naming individually presented negative, positive and neutral words. Mean participant age was 72.25 years. All participants were free of significant cognitive impairment. Results Consistent with hypotheses, analysis of variance revealed a general cognitive slowing amongst DEP, and a specific interference effect for negative words, in this group, suggesting attention bias. Conclusions Previous pilot data are confirmed. The emotional Stroop paradigm may have clinical potential for distinguishing geriatric depression and dementia, although as yet this is far from clear. Detailed development work including comparison with depressed and non depressed Alzheimer's patients, will be necessary to demonstrate diagnostic validity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.