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Methodology and preliminary results from the neurobiology of late-life depression study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2015

David C. Steffens ,
Kevin J. Manning ,
Rong Wu ,
James J. Grady ,
Richard H. Fortinsky  and
Howard A. Tennen
David C. Steffens*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
Kevin J. Manning
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
Rong Wu
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
James J. Grady
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
Richard H. Fortinsky
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
Howard A. Tennen
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry (DCS, KJM) and Community Medicine and Healthcare (RW, JJG, HAT) the Center on Aging (RHF), University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: David C. Steffens, M.D., M.H.S., Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, UConn Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT 06030-1410, USA. Phone: +1 860-679-4282; Fax: +1 860-679-1296. Email: steffens@uchc.edu.
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Abstract

Background:

We sought to investigate the relationship between neuroticism and depression in an elderly cohort. In this paper, we describe the methods of an National Institute of Mental Health—NIMH-supported study and present findings among the cohort enrolled to date.

Methods:

We used the NEO Personality Inventory to assess neuroticism, and we employed several cognitive neuroscience-based measures to examine emotional control.

Results:

Compared with a group of 27 non-depressed older control subjects, 33 older depressed subjects scored higher on measures of state and trait anxiety and neuroticism. On our experimental neuroscience-based measures, depressed subjects endorsed more negative words compared with controls on an emotional characterization test. In addition, we found a significant group-by-congruency effect on an emotional interference test where subjects were asked to identify the face's emotional expression while ignoring the words “fear” or “happy” labeled across the face.

Conclusion:

Thus, in this preliminary work, we found significant differences in measures of neuroticism and emotional controls among older adults with and without depression.

Keywords

depressionelderlyneuroticismneuroscience
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 27 , Issue 12 , December 2015 , pp. 1987 - 1997
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

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