Journal of Trauma & Treatment

Perceptual Asymmetry in Depression: Role of Co-morbid Anxiety

Abstract

Garima Gupta

Background: Vulnerability of depression has often been linked with enhanced right hemispheric asymmetry. However, other emotional states such as stress and anxiety have also been found to be associated with greater activity of the right hemisphere. Since, anxiety disorders are the most commonly reported co-morbidity in depression; it would be interesting to examine the role of co-morbid anxiety in determining the pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in depression. In the view of this, the present study investigated the influence of co-occurring anxiety on the observed pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in depression in processing of emotional information.

Method: Twenty-nine right handed sub-clinically depressed individuals and matched controls were assessed for their level of anxiety (trait and free-floating) and perceptual asymmetry in processing of emotional information. Three emotional tasks for assessing perceptual asymmetry were used- Chimeric face test, facial emotion discrimination task and judgment of emotional valence of positive and negative emotional words.

Results: The analysis of the obtained data revealed that the depressed individuals showed increased left visual field (right hemispheric) bias in processing of facial emotional stimuli and no asymmetry was reported in processing of emotional words when the co-occurring anxiety was not controlled. Further, the findings of ANCOVA revealed that the observed enhanced right hemispheric asymmetry in depression for processing of emotional information is not influenced by the co-existing level of trait anxiety. But contrary to it, the neurotic (free-floating) anxiety played a minimal role as evident by reduction in the observed magnitude of right hemispheric asymmetry in depressed group after statistically controlling its effect.

Conclusion: The findings indicated that anxiety does not have any significant influence on the observed pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in depression and further, the findings are discussed under the light of several theoretical observations of role of co-morbid anxiety in the pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in depression.

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