Depression Modulates Attentional Processing After Stroke

Depression is a common sequela after stroke and has severe implications on a patient’s life. Post-stroke depression has been linked to cognitive impairment, but the mechanisms that lead to this deficit are not well understood. We tested 18 chronic stroke patients with depression in a psychophysical task to evaluate their attentional processing under varying cognitive loads. We found that the level of depression had no effect on the unconscious, bottom-up components of attentional processing but did influence the top-down ones. These results support the notion that depression might act like an additional cognitive load, impeding the conscious processes and responses although the information has been unconsciously processed.