Research at the MDL generally falls into two domains:
identification of factors that cause and maintain depressive episodes, and;
whether current treatments modify factors thought to maintain mood disorders.
Etiology and maintenance of depression: Currently, our primary focus is on the cognitive etiology and maintenance of major unipolar depression. We believe that understanding normal cognitive processes provides an important foundation for identifying how these processes go awry in clinical depression. In the past, we have examined whether depression vulnerability is associated with negatively biased attention, thought suppression, and responsiveness to goals. Current work examines the time course of attentional biases and the interpersonal consequences of information processing biases. See our publications page for more detail about this line of research.
Treatment research: Currently, our primary focus is on whether depression treatments modify factors that maintain depression. In collaboration with colleagues at Brown Medical School, the University of Miami, and the University of Delaware, we have found that: (a) cognitive therapy specifically unlinks negative cognition (e.g., worthlessness, hopelessness) from symptoms of depression, (b) a novel group-based treatment that integrates cognitive, family, and individual treatment approaches significantly reduces symptoms of depression, (c) matching treatment to patient characteristics moderately improves the outcome of treatment, and (d) that avoiding negative thoughts about the self leads to a poor response to depression treatment. Our current research examines whether implicit negative cognition about the self predicts response to depression treatment. See our publications page for more detail about this line of research.
The Mood Disorders Laboratory is a self-contained research suite with approximately 950 square feet of laboratory space. Our laboratory contains six individual testing rooms, two interview rooms, a large office space for graduate students, a meeting room, and a waiting area. One of the testing rooms is equipped to measure both attentional processing via eye movements and psycho physiological data (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, respiration). The remaining testing rooms are equipped to conduct information processing research and complete self-report questionnaires via the computer. Interview rooms and office space are also networked and equipped with state-of-the-art computers.
