Journal
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
Volume 196, Issue 2-3, Pages 250-254Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.11.019
Keywords
Dysthymia; Major depression; Hemispheric laterality; Dichotic listening; Gender
Categories
Funding
- National Institute for Mental Health [MH36295, R10 MH 56058]
- Eli Lilly
- State of New York
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Prior studies have found abnormalities of functional brain asymmetry in patients having a major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to replicate findings of reduced right hemisphere advantage for perceiving dichotic complex tones in depressed patients, and to determine whether patients having pure dysthymia show the same abnormality of perceptual asymmetry as MDD. It also examined gender differences in lateralization, and the extent to which abnormalities of perceptual asymmetry in depressed patients are dependent on gender. Unmedicated patients having either a MDD (n = 96) or pure dysthymic disorder (n = 42) and healthy controls (n = 114) were tested on dichotic fused-words and complex-tone tests. Patient and control groups differed in right hemisphere advantage for complex tones, but not left hemisphere advantage for words. Reduced right hemisphere advantage for tones was equally present in MOD and dysthymia, but was more evident among depressed men than depressed women. Also, healthy men had greater hemispheric asymmetry than healthy women for both words and tones, whereas this gender difference was not seen for depressed patients. Dysthymia and MDD share a common abnormality of hemispheric asymmetry for dichotic listening. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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