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. 2007 Feb;116(1):86-94.
doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.116.1.86.

Cognitive and serotonergic vulnerability to depression: convergent findings

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Free article

Cognitive and serotonergic vulnerability to depression: convergent findings

Linda Booij et al. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

Cognitive reactivity (CR) is a psychological vulnerability marker of depression, whereas response to acute tryptophan depletion (ATD; a serotonergic challenge procedure) is a biological vulnerability marker. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between these markers. Thirty-nine remitted depressed patients participated in 2 ATD sessions in a double-blind crossover design. CR, assessed prior to the ATD sessions, predicted depressive response to high-dose ATD. CR also diminished the effects of 2 known predictors of ATD response: gender and residual symptoms. Neuroticism and behavioral inhibition were unrelated to ATD response. CR is associated with an increased sensitivity to reductions of serotonin concentrations. These findings present a small step toward unifying cognitive and neurobiological theories of depression.

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