The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression

Alexithymia-reflecting deficits in cognitive emotion processing-is highly prevalent in individuals with depressive disorders. Subsequently, mixed evidence for attentional bias is found in these individuals. Alexithymia may be a potential influencing factor for attentional bias in depression. In the current study, 83 currently depressed (CD) and 76 never-depressed (ND) controls completed an eye-tracker task consisting of valenced (non)-social pictures. Alexithymia scores were also included as a moderator as both a continuous and categorical measure (so high vs. low alexithymia). No group difference or moderating effect of alexithymia was found on attentional bias. Thus, alexithymic symptoms, included both dimensionally and categorically, may not influence biased attentional processing in depression compared to ND individuals. Thus, it is important to explore other potential explaining factors for the equivocal results found on biased attentional processing of emotional information in depression

Alexithymia · Attentional bias · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Depression (economics · Developmental psychology · Eye tracking · Moderation · Psychiatry · Toronto Alexithymia Scale · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

• Galectin-3 Binding Protein, Depression, and Younger Age Were Independently Associated With Alexithymia in Adult Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

  Open Access•Eva Melin, Eva O Melin et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2021

  Añadir item

• Deployment of attention to facial expressions varies as a function of emotional quality—but not in alexithymic individuals

  Open Access•Chiara Surber, Dennis Hoepfel et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2024

  Añadir item

• Disorders of Affect Regulation

  Open Access•Graeme J Taylor, R Michael Bagby et al.•Disorders of Affect Regulation•1997

  Añadir item

• Cognition and Depression

  Ian H Gotlib, Jutta Joormann•Annual Review of Clinical…•2010

  Añadir item

• Eye tracking of attention in the affective disorders

  Open Access•Thomas Armstrong, Bunmi O Olatunji•Clinical Psychology Review•2012

  Añadir item

• The Nencki Affective Picture System (Naps)

  Open Access•Artur Marchewka, Łukasz Żurawski et al.•Behavior Research Methods•2014

  Añadir item

• Depression

  Open Access•Joelle Lemoult, Ian H Gotlib•Clinical Psychology Review•2019

  Añadir item

• The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia scale—II. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity

  Open Access•R Michael Bagby, Graeme J Taylor et al.•Journal of Psychosomatic Research•1994

  Añadir item

• Recent Developments in Alexithymia Theory and Research

  Open Access•Graeme J Taylor•The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry•2000

  Añadir item

• A meta-analysis of the magnitude of biased attention in depression

  Open Access•Andrew Peckham, Andrew D Peckham et al.•Depression and Anxiety•2010

  Añadir item

• Advances in Cognitive Theory and Therapy

  Aaron T Beck, Emily Ap Haigh et al.•Annual Review of Clinical…•2014

  Añadir item

• The Alexithymia Construct

  Open Access•Graeme J Taylor, R Michael Bagby et al.•Psychosomatics•1991

  Añadir item

• The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia scale—I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure

  Open Access•R Michael Bagby, James D A Parker et al.•Journal of Psychosomatic Research•1994

  Añadir item

• Memory for emotionally provocative words in alexithymia

  Open Access•Mitchell A Meltzer, Kristy A Nielson•Consciousness and Cognition•2010

  Añadir item

• Impaired Verbal and Nonverbal Emotion Recognition in Alexithymia

  Richard D Lane, Sechrest Lee et al.•Psychosomatic Medicine•1996

  Añadir item

• Major depressive disorder is associated with broad impairments on neuropsychological measures of executive function

  Hannah R Snyder•Psychological Bulletin•2013

  Añadir item

• The contribution of perceived ethnic discrimination to the prevalence of depression

  Open Access•Umar Ikram, Umar Z Ikram et al.•European Journal of Public Health•2014

  Añadir item

• Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions

  Russell A Barkley•Psychological Bulletin•1997

  Añadir item