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Citation |
Stonawski S, Wiemer J, Wurst C, Reitz J, Hommers L, Menke A, Domschke K, Schiele MA, Pauli P. J. Neural. Transm. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070, Würzburg, Germany. pauli@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
31630255 |
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Abstract |
Covariation bias, defined as an overestimation of the relationship between fear-relevant stimuli and aversive consequences, is a well-investigated cognitive bias in anxiety disorders. As patients with affective disorders also show biased information processing, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether depressed patients also display a covariation bias between negative stimuli and aversive consequences. Covariation estimates of 62 inpatients with a current severe depressive episode were assessed at admission (n = 31) or after 6 weeks of treatment (n = 31) and were compared in a between-group design with 31 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All participants showed a covariation bias for the relationship between negative stimuli and aversive consequences. Moreover, covariation bias at admission was significantly associated with various clinician- and self-reported dimensional measures of treatment response assessed 6 weeks later (Global Assessment of Functioning, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory), i.e., patients with a stronger bias showed greater impairment after 6 weeks of treatment. Categorical analyses revealed that overall, treatment non-responders-but not responders-were characterized by a covariation bias. The naturalistic study design without standardized pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments is a central limitation. We conclude that the covariation bias may constitute a possible marker in the field of emotional information processing in the search for effective predictors of therapy outcome. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Affective disorders; Covariation bias; Severe depressive episode; Treatment response |