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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 15, 2026

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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Behavioral activation system moderates self-referent processing following recovery from depression.

K Kircanski¹, H Mazur, I H Gotlib

¹Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Jordan Hall, Building 420, Stanford, CA 94305-2130, USA. katharina.kircanski@stanford.edu

Psychological Medicine

|January 10, 2013

Summary

Individuals with a history of depression show a distinct link between behavioral activation system (BAS) functioning and negative self-referent processing. Enhancing BAS may buffer cognitive vulnerability to depression.

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Last Updated: May 15, 2026

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Published on: March 14, 2025

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Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Area of Science:

Psychology
Neuroscience
Clinical Psychology

Background:

The behavioral activation system (BAS) is implicated in depression.
The link between BAS functioning and cognitive vulnerability to depression is not fully understood.
Self-referent processing of positive and negative information is a key aspect of cognitive vulnerability.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the associations between BAS functioning and the encoding/recall of self-referent information.
To compare these associations in individuals with a history of recurrent major depression (RMD) and never-depressed controls (CTL).

Main Methods:

Participants completed self-report measures of BAS and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) functioning.
A negative mood induction was followed by a task involving positive and negative self-referent adjectives.
Participants indicated which adjectives described them and later recalled the words.

Main Results:

BAS reward responsivity was associated with endorsement and recall of positive words, particularly in the RMD group.
Lower BAS reward responsivity was linked to endorsing more negative words, but only in RMD participants.
These findings were independent of current depressive/anxiety symptoms, mood, or BIS functioning.

Conclusions:

BAS functioning is distinctly associated with negatively biased self-referent processing in individuals with a history of major depressive disorder.
This negative bias represents a facet of cognitive vulnerability to depression.
Interventions aimed at enhancing BAS functioning may help mitigate cognitive vulnerability to depression.