Feng Xue, Gu Ruolei, Liang Fucheng, Broster Lucas S, Liu Yunzhe, Zhang Dandan, Luo Yue-jia
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2015 Aug;97(2):93-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.04.016. Epub 2015 Apr 30.
Depression has been linked to counterfactual thinking in many behavioral studies, but the direction of this effect remains disputed. In the current study, the relationship between depression and counterfactual thinking was examined using the event-related potential (ERP) technique. In a binary choice gambling task, outcome feedback of the chosen option and that of the alternative option were both provided, so as to elicit the process of counterfactual comparison. By investigating ERP signals in response to outcome presentation, we discovered that when the fictive outcome was better or worse than the factual outcome, the amplitude of the P3 component was positively correlated with individual levels of depression, but not levels of anxiety. These results indicate that depression strengthens both upward counterfactual thinking and downward counterfactual thinking. The implication of this finding to clinical research is discussed.
在许多行为研究中，抑郁症都与反事实思维有关，但这种效应的方向仍存在争议。在当前的研究中，使用事件相关电位（ERP）技术检验了抑郁症与反事实思维之间的关系。在一个二元选择赌博任务中，提供了所选选项和替代选项的结果反馈，以引发反事实比较的过程。通过研究对结果呈现的ERP信号，我们发现，当虚拟结果比实际结果更好或更差时，P3成分的振幅与个体的抑郁水平呈正相关，而与焦虑水平无关。这些结果表明，抑郁症会增强上行反事实思维和下行反事实思维。本文讨论了这一发现对临床研究的意义。
