Right-posterior face processing anomaly in depression

J Abnorm Psychol. 2000 Feb;109(1):116-21. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.109.1.116.

Abstract

Evidence of a right-posterior brain anomaly was found in a study of 19 individuals with major depression and 15 controls. Participants performed a recognition-memory task involving positive, neutral, and negative face and word stimuli. Scalp brain wave topography suggested a region-specific anomaly in the depressed group. Individuals with major depression demonstrated a reduction in the N200 component of the event-related brain potential to faces and not words. Furthermore, results indicate that the regional anomaly is specific to positive facial stimuli. Findings are interpreted in light of a model of regional brain specialization in emotion and psychopathology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Affect
  • Brain / physiopathology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / physiopathology*
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology*
  • Dominance, Cerebral*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory*
  • Evoked Potentials, Visual*
  • Facial Expression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Neurological
  • Refractory Period, Electrophysiological
  • Word Association Tests