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Seasonal Reactivity: Attentional Bias and Psychophysiological Arousal in Seasonal and Nonseasonal Depression

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Maine, 5742 Little Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Sandra T. Sigmon, Stacy Whitcomb-Smith, Nina E. Boulard, Jennifer J. Pells, Barbara A. Hermann, Teresa M. Edenfield, Stephanie M. LaMattina & Janell G. Schartel

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  1. Sandra T. Sigmon
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  2. Stacy Whitcomb-Smith
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  3. Nina E. Boulard
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Correspondence to Sandra T. Sigmon.

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Portions of this article were presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Reno, Nevada, November 2002.

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Sigmon, S.T., Whitcomb-Smith, S., Boulard, N.E. et al. Seasonal Reactivity: Attentional Bias and Psychophysiological Arousal in Seasonal and Nonseasonal Depression. Cogn Ther Res 31, 619–638 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9029-6

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