Rumination in major depressive disorder is associated with impaired neural activation during conflict monitoring.

Brandon L Alderman,Ryan L Olson,David Eddie,Christopher J Brush,Marsha E Bates,Edward A Selby,Jennifer F Buckman,Tracey J Shors,Emily A Panza,Amy Kranzler

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00269

Brandon L Alderman, Ryan L Olson + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00269

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Abstract

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often ruminate about past experiences, especially those with negative content. These repetitive thoughts may interfere with cognitive processes related to attention and conflict monitoring. However, the temporal nature of these processes as reflected in event-related potentials (ERPs) has not been well-described. We examined behavioral and ERP indices of conflict monitoring during a modified flanker task and the allocation of attention during an attentional blink (AB) task in 33 individuals with MDD and 36 healthy controls, and whether their behavioral performance and ERPs varied with level of rumination. N2 amplitude elicited by the flanker task was significantly reduced in participants with MDD compared to healthy controls. Level of self-reported rumination was also correlated with N2 amplitude. In contrast, P3 amplitude during the AB task was not significantly different between groups, nor was it correlated with rumination. No significant differences were found in behavioral task performance measures between groups or by rumination levels. These findings suggest that rumination in MDD is associated with select deficits in cognitive control, particularly related to conflict monitoring.

Highlights

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States with a lifetime prevalence of ∼16.6% (Kessler et al, 2005)
This test confirmed that a comparable number of data points in each group were available for subsequent event-related potentials (ERPs) analysis
Individuals often ruminate about the past, which further interferes with cognitive control processes and the ability to inhibit unwanted thought patterns

Summary

Introduction

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States with a lifetime prevalence of ∼16.6% (Kessler et al, 2005). Depression, rumination, and conflict monitoring with an inability to focus, concentrate, or sustain attention (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Davidson et al, 2002) These latter symptoms are indicative of deficits in cognitive functioning, which may further contribute to disability and poor quality of life (Holmes and Pizzagalli, 2008; Hammar and Ardal, 2009; Gotlib and Joormann, 2010). Less well-studied, recent studies suggest that excessive rumination, as is often found in individuals with MDD, is associated with less cognitive control (Joormann et al, 2006; Whitmer and Banich, 2007) These control processes are involved in many aspects of healthy cognition and may be involved in delay of gratification and impulse control, as well as self-reflection and the intrusion of negative thought patterns. The temporal dynamics of conflict monitoring and cognitive control are not well-described, especially as they relate to rumination

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