The association between depressive symptoms and executive control impairments in response to emotional and non-emotional information

De Lissnyder, Evi; Koster, Ernst H. W.; Derakshan, Nazanin; De Raedt, Rudi · 2009 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1080/02699930903378354

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between depressive symptoms, rumination, and executive control impairments, specifically focusing on inhibition and set shifting in response to emotional versus non-emotional information. Motivated by cognitive theories suggesting that information processing biases contribute to depression vulnerability, the research aims to determine if general depressive symptoms or the specific cognitive style of rumination are linked to deficits in these executive functions. Previous literature had largely examined executive control in isolation from emotional context or failed to distinguish between general depression and rumination, leaving it unclear which specific mechanisms underlie depressive vulnerability. To address this, the authors developed the Affective Shift Task (AST), a modified task-switching paradigm using facial stimuli (happy, angry, male, female, light/dark grey). The study included 96 undergraduate participants, categorized by depressive symptom severity (using the Beck Depression Inventory) and rumination levels (using the Ruminative Response Scale). Participants performed an odd-one-out search task where they had to switch attention between different dimensions (emotion, gender, color) based on cues. Reaction times were analyzed to calculate indices for inhibition (the ability to suppress previously relevant information) and set shifting (the cost of switching mental sets). The design allowed for the comparison of performance on emotional (happy/angry) and non-emotional (gender/color) trials. The results indicated that general depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with inhibition impairments. Set shifting impairments were observed only in individuals with moderate to severe depressive symptoms. However, rumination, specifically the maladaptive "brooding" subscale, was strongly linked to executive control deficits. High ruminators exhibited impaired inhibition specifically when processing negative (angry) information, evidenced by faster reaction times when re-activating a previously inhibited angry face, suggesting a failure to suppress negative material. Additionally, high ruminators showed a general impairment in set shifting, reflected by a significantly larger shift cost compared to low ruminators. Regression analyses confirmed that depressive brooding, rather than general depressive symptoms or reflective pondering, was the primary predictor of both inhibition and shifting impairments. These findings suggest that while general depressive symptoms may not broadly impair executive control in non-clinical populations, the specific cognitive style of rumination is a critical vulnerability factor. The association between brooding and impaired inhibition of negative material supports the hypothesis that reduced top-down control over negative information contributes to the maintenance of depression. Furthermore, the link between rumination and set shifting deficits highlights the inflexible thinking characteristic of ruminators. This study underscores the importance of distinguishing between general depression and specific cognitive styles like rumination when assessing executive function, providing evidence that impaired inhibition of negative stimuli is a stable cognitive vulnerability marker for depression.

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• executive function