Comparison of Brain/Behavioral Systems, Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Failures in Patients with Schizophrenia Disorder, Major Depression Disorder and Normal Individuals

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the inhibition/activation behavioral systems, positive and negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies and cognitive failures in patients with schizophrenia disorder, depression disorder and normal individuals. Methods: The method was a descriptive and causal-comparative study and the statistical population included all male patients (n=65) with schizophrenia and depression in Isar and Fatemi Hospitals in Ardabil city in 2016. Thirty schizophrenic patients and 30 depressed patients were sampled by the census method and were compared with 30 normal subjects. Data were collected using the Carver and White's behavioral inhibition and activation questionnaire (BIS/BAS), Garnefski's cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ) and cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ). Then, the data were analyzed using chi-square, multivariate analysis of variance and LSD by the SPSS18 software. Results: The results showed that normal subjects had more sensitivity than depressed and schizophrenic patients in a behavioral activation system and also both depressed and schizophrenic patients had more sensitivity than normal people in a behavioral inhibition system (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found between depressed and schizophrenic patients in a behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition system sensitivity (P > 0.05). In the emotion regulation strategy, normal people used adaptive emotion regulation, and depressed and schizophrenic patients used maladaptive emotion regulation styles. Finally, schizophrenia patients had cognitive failures more than depressed patients, and depressed patients had deficits more than normal people (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings show that brain/behavioral systems, emotion regulation and cognitive failures play an important role in pathology of schizophrenia and depression disorders and can be an important therapeutic target in the treatment and rehabilitation.

Role of Behavioral Activation and Inhibition Systems in Symptoms of Major Depression Disorder Regarding the Mediating Role of Cognitive Bias

“…Major depressive disorder is one of the most specific mental disorders [1]. In the United States, 17% of adults have experienced at least one episode of major depression (MD) throughout their lives [2].…”