Seasonal reactivity: Attentional bias and psychophysiological arousal in seasonal and nonseasonal depression

Individuals diagnosed with seasonal depression (MDD-SAD), nonseasonal depression (MDD), and controls completed a modified Stroop task and viewed winter and summer content scenes while skin conductance levels were recorded. Participants in the MDD-SAD and MDD groups took longer than controls to color name dark and depressive content words; however, individuals in the MDD group took longer than controls to color name all words. In reaction to winter scenes, individuals in the MDD-SAD group exhibited a greater frequency of significant skin conductance responses and greater amplitude of skin conductance responses than individuals in the MDD and control groups. These results add to a growing literature on seasonal reactivity which suggests that there may be specific features that distinguish seasonal and nonseasonal depression. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Duke Scholars

Author Jennifer Jacqueline Pells Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Adult Psychiatry & Psychol ...