Hand fatigue asymmetry in the motor performances of women with depressed mood

The influence of depressed mood on the cerebral hemispheric motor functioning of 38 right-handed women, half of whom had been classified as depressed and the other half as nondepressed, was examined. The women with depressed mood 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 and fatigue. Primary findings indicated that the women with depressed mood displayed significantly less hand-grip fatigue of the left hand than did nondepressed women. These results suggest possible arousal of the right cerebral hemisphere in this sample of anxious-depressed women ; we discuss these findings in terms ofarousal theory.