Cognitive bias modification as an add-on treatment in clinical depression: Results from a placebo-controlled, single-blinded randomized control trial
Publication year
2018Author(s)
Number of pages
9 p.
Source
Journal of Affective Disorders, 238, (2018), pp. 342-350ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Psychiatry
SW OZ BSI KLP
Journal title
Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume
vol. 238
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 342
Page end
p. 350
Subject
Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment; Radboudumc 13: Stress-related disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical NeuroscienceAbstract
Background: Only 60% of depressed patients respond sufficiently to treatment, so there is a dire need for novel approaches to improve treatment effects. Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) may be an effective and easily implemented computerized add-on to treatment-as-usual. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a positivity-attention training and a positivity-approach training compared to control trainings. Methods: In a blinded randomized-controlled design, 139 depressed inpatients received either the CBM Attention Dot-Probe Training (DPT) or the CBM Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT), next to treatment as usual. N = 121 finished all four training sessions. Both trainings had an active and a control condition. In both active conditions, patients were trained to preferentially process generally positive pictures over neutral pictures. Depressive symptom severity was assessed before and after CBM, and positivity bias was measured at the start and end of each session. Results: Clinician-rated depressive symptom severity decreased more in patients who received the active condition of the DPT or the AAT compared to patients in the control conditions. Significant change in positivity bias was found for the DPT (not the AAT), but did not mediate the effect of the training on depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The results suggest that both types of CBM (i.e., DPT and AAT) may provide a fitting add-on treatment option for clinical depression. The working mechanisms and optimal dose of CBM trainings, plus their possible combination, should be examined in more detail.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [238426]
- Electronic publications [122508]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [90358]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [29483]
- Open Access publications [97504]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.