Depression and Inhibitory Control: An Event Related Potentials (ERP) and Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) study Staff: Andrew Kemp, Laarnie Pe Benito, Daniel Quintana Participating Institutions: The Brain Dynamics Centre Background: Depression causes substantial disruption to victims and their families and places enormous pressure on society and the economy. Currently, depression costs Australia $3.3 billion in lost productivity each year. This study will attempt to identify specific neurophysiological impairments associated with inhibitory control which may serve as potential markers for the depressive disease. Well-established models highlight that certain neuropsychological mechanisms are associated with depression (Davidson, 1992; Heller, 1993). These models highlight the importance of the right hemisphere function in this disorder, such that depression is associated with higher relative activation of right frontal, but lower activation of right parietotemporal regions. Other lines of research implicate the right-hemisphere in the ability to suppress irrelevant information, a fundamental executive function essential for successful living (Garavan et al, 1999). Previous studies on depression have typically examined inhibitory control in the context of affectively salient information. This study will employ a cognitive go-nogo task in order to disentangle disturbances in affect and disturbances in inhibitory processes in depression, a particularly important task given that executive dysfunction can have a severe impact on depressed patient?s quality of life (Dew et al., 1991; Coryell et al., 1995). Aim: Using ERPs, we will examine the impact of depression on response inhibition in clinically depressed patients, participants with depressed mood and healthy individuals. Given converging evidence implicating the right hemisphere in depression and inhibitory processes, it is hypothesised that specific ERP impairments will be identified in the right rather than left hemisphere. Methods: Unmedicated clinically depressed patients, participants with depressed mood, and healthy individuals will take part in a Go/No Go inhibition task while simultaneous ERP measurements are taken. Statistical analysis will be conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 15) and LORETA software. Behavioural data will be analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Amplitude and latency components will be analysed using a repeated measures ANOVA with a 3 (group: non-depressed, depressed mood, MDD) ? 2 (gender) ? 2 (stimulus: go, no-go) ? 3 (hemisphere: left, midline, right) ? 3 (region: frontal, central, posterior) design. Results: on going Discussion and Conclusions: on going Related Publications: At this time, there are no publicatons entered with this project, please browse the publications section of this website.

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