Differentiating Types of Anxiety, Depression, and Their Co-Occurrence: Regional Brain Activity and Life Stress

Distinct patterns of regional brain activity have been found to be characteristic of anxiety and depression in adults and late adolescents. However, there has been a substantial amount of inconsistency across studies as to the specific regions implicated. This electroencephalographic study addressed two factors that might account for some of these discrepant findings. Hypotheses that patterns of regional brain activity would differentiate distinct types of anxiety and depression---anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, anhedonic depression---were tested. In addition, following from a diathesis-stress formulation proposed by Davidson (1992; Davidson & Tomarken, 1989), the influence of life stress on the relationship between brain activity and affect was systematically examined. Consistent with previous work (Heller, Nitschke, Etienne, & Miller, 1997), the two types of anxiety were found to be associated with opposing patterns of brain activity, with more left than right hemisphere activity in anxious apprehension and more right than left in anxious arousal. Results for anhedonic depression confirmed predictions for reduced activity in the right parietal region, although only in men. Furthermore, for high levels of life stress, general depression was accompanied by reductions in activity at right posterior temporal as well as all anterior sites sampled. The often reported anterior asymmetry for depression was only found in depressed participants also exhibiting high levels of anxiety. Implications for psychopathology and for theoretical perspectives addressing brain function in anxiety and depression are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Nitschke, Jakob Bliss

Contributors dc:contributor

• Heller, Wendy
• Miller, Gregory A.

• Psychology, Psychobiology

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9912329

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82253