| Attentional dysfunction is commonly found in depressed individuals in the form of impairment on measures of selective attention as well as attentional biases for negative information. Despite overlapping theory, methodology, and neuroanatomy, few studies have included both constructs in the context of the same study, much less considered their overlap. This study utilized multiple measures of selective attention and valenced information processing to characterize aspects of attention in 91 individuals who were either currently depressed, formerly depressed, or never-depressed (according to diagnostic interview). Depression status was associated with decreased performance on selective attention and stronger attention biases for valenced information (both positive and negative). Selective attention was also found to mediate the relationship between group status and valenced information processing, but only in currently depressed individuals. Our findings highlight the overlap between selective attention and attention biases and suggest a number of future directions for research, as well as implications for a promising intervention for depression, attention bias modification. |
