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The Nature of Cognition in Depression
Cognitive factors are implicated in many ways in depression. We have an ongoing series of projects in which we are investigating the role of cognition in producing and maintaining depressive symptoms.
Much of this work is concerned with a cognitive style that appears to be a risk factor for depression, called a ruminative response style. People with a ruminative response style focus chronically on their problems, the causes and consequences of their problems, and how they feel about their problems. They do not, however, engage in active problem-solving to overcome their problems. Instead, they remain stuck in ruminative cycles of thinking. Previous work from our group shows that people with a ruminative response style are more likely to develop both minor and major symptoms of depression than people without a ruminative response style.
Ongoing work in our lab focuses on the basic cognitive deficits that contribute to, and are the result of, rumination. For example, we are interested in how rumination relates to deficits in attention and cognitive inhibition, and how it affects retrieval and organization of memories.
Representative publications: