Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34605959›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2021

Attentional bias in individuals with depression and adverse childhood experiences: influence of the noradrenergic system?

Linn K Kuehl, Christian E Deuter, Jan Nowacki, Lisa Ueberrueck, Katja Wingenfeld, Christian Otte

Open access · hybridAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 51% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Linn K KuehlCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany. linn.kuehl@charite.de.
Christian E DeuterCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Jan NowackiCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Lisa UeberrueckCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Katja WingenfeldCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Christian OtteCharité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · DE

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft KU 3106/2-1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental disorder with affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. Mood congruent cognitive biases, including a negative attentional bias, are important for development, maintenance, and recurrence of depressive symptoms. MDD is associated with maladaptive changes in the biological stress systems such as dysregulations of central noradrenergic alpha2-receptors in the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system, which can affect cognitive processes including attention. Patients with adverse childhood experiences (ACE), representing severe stress experiences in early life, might be particularly affected.

objectivesWith an experimental design, we aimed to gain further knowledge about the role of noradrenergic activity for attentional bias in MDD patients with and without ACE.

methodsWe tested the effect of increased noradrenergic activity induced by the alpha2-receptor blocker yohimbine on attentional bias in a placebo-controlled repeated measures design. Four groups were included as follows: MDD patients with and without ACE, and healthy participants with and without ACE (total N = 128, all without antidepressant medication).

resultsA significant effect of MDD on attentional bias scores of sad face pictures (p = .037) indicated a facilitated attentional processing of sad face pictures in MDD patients (compared to non-MDD individuals). However, we found no such effect of ACE. For attentional bias of happy face pictures, we found no significant effects of MDD and ACE. Even though a higher increase of blood pressure and salivary alpha-amylase following yohimbine compared to placebo indicated successful noradrenergic stimulation, we found no significant effects of yohimbine on attentional bias of happy or sad face pictures.

conclusionsOur results are consistent with the hypothesis of a negative attentional bias in MDD patients. However, as we found no effect of ACE or yohimbine, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which ACE increases the risk of MDD and to understand the biological basis of the MDD-related negative attentional bias.

Indexed as

Attentional BiasMajor Depressive DisorderDepressionHumansNorepinephrineYohimbineNorepinephrineYohimbineAlpha2-adrenergic receptorChildhood traumaDot probeMajor depressive disorderNorepinephrineYohimbine

Identifiers

PMID34605959
PMCPMC8629860
OpenAlexW3203176139

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.