Functional Asymmetry in the Motor Performances of Women: Neuropsychological Effects of Depression

The influence of depression on the cerebral hemispheric motor functioning of 40 right-handed women, half of whom had been classified as depressed, the other half as nondepressed, was examined. The depressed women were also characterized by elevated state and trait anxiety, suggestive of an anxious-depressive state with heightened arousal. A hand dynamometer was used as a standardized measure of hemispheric motor functioning such as hand-grip strength, perseveration, and fatigue. Primary findings indicated that depressed women displayed significantly less perseveration at the left hand than did nondepressed women, but a nonsignificant trend only was noted for less perseveration at the right hand. These results suggest possible differential arousal of the left and right cerebral hemispheres in this sample of anxious-depressed women and are discussed in terms of arousal theory.