Affective Attentional Bias Training In Depression

Biased attention toward negatively valenced information has been considered as a mechanism for risk and relapse in depression. Those with depression tend to focus their visual attention first, more frequently, and for longer periods of time, if it connotes negative (particularly sad) mood. To this end, investigators have recently discovered that this bias might be modifiable. However, the existing literature is mixed with regard to effectiveness. The investigators propose in this study a novel approach to modifying attention bias in depression by using real time feedback with eye tracking technology. The investigators will examine if, compared to a sham condition, rewarding attention toward positive stimuli results in improved mood and reductions in attention bias. Following three sessions of either sham training or active attentional bias training, the investigators hypothesize that participants in the active training condition will experience a) reductions in negative attentional bias, and b) to an improved mood state and increased quality of life, compared to those in the sham training condition.