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Drug-free patients with major depression show an increased electrophysiological response to valid and invalid feedback

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2011

G. W. Mies ,
F. M. van der Veen ,
J. H. M. Tulen ,
T. K. Birkenhäger ,
M. W. Hengeveld  and
M. W. van der Molen
G. W. Mies
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
F. M. van der Veen*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
J. H. M. Tulen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
T. K. Birkenhäger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
M. W. Hengeveld
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
M. W. van der Molen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr F. M. van der Veen, Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (Email: f.vanderveen@erasmusmc.nl)
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Abstract

Background

Depressed patients are biased in their response to negative information. They have been found to show a maladaptive behavioral and aberrant electrophysiological response to negative feedback. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral and electrophysiological response to feedback validity in drug-free depressed patients.

Method

Fifteen drug-free in-patients with unipolar major depression disorder (MDD) and 30 demographically matched controls performed a time-estimation task in which they received valid and invalid (i.e. related and unrelated to performance) positive and negative feedback. The number of behavioral adjustments to the feedback and the feedback-related negativity (FRN) were measured.

Results

Patients made fewer correct adjustments after valid negative feedback than controls, and their FRNs were larger. Neither patients nor controls adjusted their time estimates following invalid negative feedback.

Conclusions

The FRN results suggest that depressed drug-free in-patients have an atypical rostral anterior cingulate response to feedback that is independent of feedback validity. Their behavioral response to invalid negative feedback, however, is not impaired. This study confirms the notion that the behavioral responses of depressed individuals to negative feedback are context dependent.

Keywords

Anterior cingulate cortexdepressionERPsfeedback processingfeedback-related negativitytime-estimation task
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 41 , Issue 12 , December 2011 , pp. 2515 - 2525
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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