TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wirkner, Janine
A1  - Weymar, Mathias
A1  - Loew, Andreas
A1  - Hamm, Carmen
A1  - Struck, Anne-Marie
A1  - Kirschbaum, Clemens
A1  - Hamm, Alfons O.
T1  - Cognitive functioning and emotion processing in breast cancer survivors and controls: An ERP pilot study
JF  - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research
N2  - Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is a very emotionally aversive and stressful life event, which can lead to impaired cognitive functioning and mental health. Breast cancer survivors responding with repressive emotion regulation strategies often show less adaptive coping and adverse outcomes. We investigated cognitive functioning and neural correlates of emotion processing using ERPs. Self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and fatigue, as well as hair cortisol as an index of chronic stress, were assessed. Twenty breast cancer survivors (BCS) and 31 carefully matched healthy controls participated in the study. After neuropsychological testing and subjective assessments, participants viewed 30 neutral, 30 unpleasant, and 30 pleasant pictures, and ERPs were recorded. Recognition memory was tested 1 week later. BCS reported stronger complaints about cognitive impairments and more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Moreover, they showed elevated hair cortisol levels. Except for verbal memory, cognitive functioning was predominantly in the normative range. Recognition memory performance was decreased in cancer survivors, especially for emotional contents. In ERPs, survivors showed smaller late positive potential amplitudes for unpleasant pictures relative to controls in a later time window, which may indicate less elaborative processing of this material. Taken together, we found cognitive impairments in BCS in verbal memory, impaired emotional picture memory accuracy, and reduced neural activity when breast cancer survivors were confronted with unpleasant materials. Further studies and larger sample sizes, however, are needed to evaluate the relationship between altered emotion processing and reduced memory in BCS in order to develop new treatment strategies.
KW  - attention
KW  - breast cancer survivors
KW  - emotion
KW  - ERPs
KW  - memory
KW  - neuropsychology
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12874
SN  - 0048-5772
SN  - 1469-8986
VL  - 54
SP  - 1209
EP  - 1222
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Wirkner, Janine
A1  - Low, Andreas
A1  - Struck, Anne-Marie
A1  - Hamm, Alfons O.
A1  - Weymar, Mathias
T1  - DOES AGE INFLUENCE BRAIN POTENTIALS DURING AFFECTIVE PICTURE PROCESSING IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN?
T2  - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 0048-5772
SN  - 1469-8986
VL  - 54
SP  - S40
EP  - S40
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -