Abstract
Evidence suggests an association between inflammation and depression, although findings are mixed. Focusing on core processes in depression may clarify associated biological underpinnings. Negative cognitive bias is a key component of depression, but has not been examined in relation to inflammation. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that elevated inflammatory markers would be associated with negative attentional bias in a sample of 91 breast cancer survivors. Participants were drawn from a larger study and provided blood samples for assessment of peripheral markers of inflammation and completed questionnaires and neuropsychological testing. Attentional bias towards emotional stimuli was assessed with a dot-probe computer task using emotional (sad, happy, angry) and neutral faces. Circulating concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) were positively correlated with negative attentional bias (p=.03), such that women with higher CRP allocated greater attention towards sad faces. This association held when controlling for attention function and current depressive symptoms. While cross-sectional, results are consistent with research showing that inflammation heightens the salience of negative emotional stimuli, and identify a novel pathway through which inflammation may lead to depression.