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Hemispheric specialization for emotional word processing is a function of SSRI responsiveness
Amy Walsh1, John McDowall, Gina M Grimshaw
1Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Brain and Cognition
|October 15, 2010
Summary
Individuals vulnerable to depression and unresponsive to SSRIs show altered brain activity. Specifically, non-responders exhibit right hemisphere dominance for processing negative emotional words, unlike responders and never-depressed individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Depression vulnerability and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) non-response are linked to neurophysiological differences.
- Specifically, greater right hemisphere (RH) than left hemisphere (LH) activity is observed in these individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between hemispheric specialization and emotional word processing.
- To compare processing in never-depressed, SSRI-responding, and SSRI-non-responding individuals.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a divided visual field paradigm to assess hemispheric processing.
- Administered the task to never-depressed, previously-depressed SSRI responders, and previously-depressed SSRI non-responders.
Main Results:
- SSRI responders and never-depressed participants showed similar left hemispheric lateralization for emotional word evaluation.
- SSRI non-responders displayed a shift towards RH processing for negative words.
- SSRI non-responders exhibited a bias towards negative evaluation of words presented to the RH.
Conclusions:
- Hemispheric specialization patterns differ between SSRI responders and non-responders.
- Altered RH processing of negative stimuli may indicate a biological marker for depression vulnerability.
- Findings support a biological-cognitive model of depression vulnerability.
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