Perceptual asymmetry differences between major depression with or without a comorbid anxiety disorder: A dichotic listening study

Author(s): Wexler, B. E., Stewart, J. W., Price, L. H., Quitkin, F. M.

Journal/Book: J Abnormal Psychol. 1999; 108: 750 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, USA. Amer Psychological Assoc. 233-239.

Abstract: Predictions that anxious and nonanxious depression would differ in perceptual asymmetry (PA), as well as in sensitivity for perceiving emotional words, were evaluated using dichotic listening tasks. A total of 149 patients having a major depressive disorder (51 with and 98 without an anxiety disorder) and 57 healthy controls were tested on fused-word and complex tone tasks. The anxious and nonanxious depression groups showed a consistent difference in PA across tasks; that is, the anxious group had a larger left-ear advantage for tones and a smaller right-ear advantage for words when compared with the nonanxious group. There was no group difference in sensitivity for perceiving emotional words. Patients having an anxious depression appear to have a greater propensity to activate right than left-hemisphere regions during auditory tasks, whereas those having a nonanxious depression have the opposite hemispheric asymmetry.

Note: Article Bruder GE, New York State Psychiat Inst, Dept Biopsychol, New York,NY 10032 USA

Keyword(s): HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES; EMOTION; LATERALITY; SUBTYPES; PATTERNS; AROUSAL; STIMULI; FACES

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