Background
Individual differences in selective attention may play a role in moderating psychological
vulnerabilities by shaping the ability to self-regulate emotion. Children of parents
with childhood-onset depression (COD) are at increased risk for socioemotional difficulties.
This study examined potential differences in selective attention as a function of
parental COD.
Methods
Children (n = 33, ages 6 to 10) participated in a Posner cued attention task under neutral and
affective conditions. Behavioral (reaction time [RT]; errors) and event-related potential
(ERP) data were collected during the task.
Results
Performance in the Posner task under the affective condition was marked by significant
decreases in RTs, an increase in errors, and an increased validity effect (difference
in RTs to the cued vs. uncued trials) relative to performance under neutral conditions.
Children of parents with COD were slower in their response rates compared with control
children. The at-risk children also showed larger P3 and slow wave amplitudes in anterior
scalp sites, particularly during the affective Posner task.
Conclusions
These data suggest that there are subtle deficits in selective attention among the
offspring of individuals with COD, requiring that they engage more processing resources
to perform effectively. This may affect their ability to adequately regulate emotion
under stress.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 25, 2006
Accepted:
February 16,
2006
Received in revised form:
November 22,
2005
Received:
July 15,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
