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Left Hemisphere Dysfunction During Verbal Dichotic Listening Tests in Patients Who Have Social Phobia With or Without Comorbid Depressive Disorder

Left Hemisphere Dysfunction During Verbal Dichotic Listening Tests in Patients Who Have Social... OBJECTIVE: Behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging studies have found evidence that anxiety disorders are associated with left hemisphere dysfunction or higher than normal activation of right hemisphere regions. Few studies, however, have examined hemispheric asymmetries of function in social phobia, and the influence of comorbidity with depressive disorders is unknown. The present study used dichotic listening tests to assess lateralized cognitive processing in patients with social phobia, depression, or comorbid social phobia and depression. METHOD: The study used a two-by-two factorial design in which one factor was social phobia (present versus absent) and the second factor was depressive disorder (present versus absent). A total of 125 unmedicated patients with social phobia, depressive disorder, or comorbid social phobia and depressive disorder and 44 healthy comparison subjects were tested on dichotic fused-words, consonant-vowel syllable, and complex tone tests. RESULTS: Patients with social phobia with or without a comorbid depressive disorder had a smaller left hemisphere advantage for processing words and syllables, compared with subjects without social phobia, whereas no difference between groups was found in the right hemisphere advantage for processing complex tones. Depressed women had a larger left hemisphere advantage for processing words, compared with nondepressed women, but this difference was not seen among men. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that social phobia is associated with dysfunction of left hemisphere regions mediating verbal processing. Given the importance of verbal processes in social interactions, this dysfunction may contribute to the stress and difficulty experienced by patients with social phobia in social situations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Psychiatry American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc (Journal)

Left Hemisphere Dysfunction During Verbal Dichotic Listening Tests in Patients Who Have Social Phobia With or Without Comorbid Depressive Disorder

Left Hemisphere Dysfunction During Verbal Dichotic Listening Tests in Patients Who Have Social Phobia With or Without Comorbid Depressive Disorder

American Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 (1): 72 – Jan 1, 2004

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging studies have found evidence that anxiety disorders are associated with left hemisphere dysfunction or higher than normal activation of right hemisphere regions. Few studies, however, have examined hemispheric asymmetries of function in social phobia, and the influence of comorbidity with depressive disorders is unknown. The present study used dichotic listening tests to assess lateralized cognitive processing in patients with social phobia, depression, or comorbid social phobia and depression. METHOD: The study used a two-by-two factorial design in which one factor was social phobia (present versus absent) and the second factor was depressive disorder (present versus absent). A total of 125 unmedicated patients with social phobia, depressive disorder, or comorbid social phobia and depressive disorder and 44 healthy comparison subjects were tested on dichotic fused-words, consonant-vowel syllable, and complex tone tests. RESULTS: Patients with social phobia with or without a comorbid depressive disorder had a smaller left hemisphere advantage for processing words and syllables, compared with subjects without social phobia, whereas no difference between groups was found in the right hemisphere advantage for processing complex tones. Depressed women had a larger left hemisphere advantage for processing words, compared with nondepressed women, but this difference was not seen among men. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that social phobia is associated with dysfunction of left hemisphere regions mediating verbal processing. Given the importance of verbal processes in social interactions, this dysfunction may contribute to the stress and difficulty experienced by patients with social phobia in social situations.

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References (29)

Publisher
American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc (Journal)
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0002-953X
DOI
10.1176/appi.ajp.161.1.72
pmid
14702253
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging studies have found evidence that anxiety disorders are associated with left hemisphere dysfunction or higher than normal activation of right hemisphere regions. Few studies, however, have examined hemispheric asymmetries of function in social phobia, and the influence of comorbidity with depressive disorders is unknown. The present study used dichotic listening tests to assess lateralized cognitive processing in patients with social phobia, depression, or comorbid social phobia and depression. METHOD: The study used a two-by-two factorial design in which one factor was social phobia (present versus absent) and the second factor was depressive disorder (present versus absent). A total of 125 unmedicated patients with social phobia, depressive disorder, or comorbid social phobia and depressive disorder and 44 healthy comparison subjects were tested on dichotic fused-words, consonant-vowel syllable, and complex tone tests. RESULTS: Patients with social phobia with or without a comorbid depressive disorder had a smaller left hemisphere advantage for processing words and syllables, compared with subjects without social phobia, whereas no difference between groups was found in the right hemisphere advantage for processing complex tones. Depressed women had a larger left hemisphere advantage for processing words, compared with nondepressed women, but this difference was not seen among men. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that social phobia is associated with dysfunction of left hemisphere regions mediating verbal processing. Given the importance of verbal processes in social interactions, this dysfunction may contribute to the stress and difficulty experienced by patients with social phobia in social situations.

Journal

American Journal of PsychiatryAmerican Psychiatric Publishing, Inc (Journal)

Published: Jan 1, 2004

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