Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate whether subjects with major depression display attention deficits.Methods35 antidepressant-free,non-elderly patients with unipolar depression diagnosis according to ICD-10 and CCMD-Ⅲ as well as 35 health control subjects matched for education,age and sex were administered three tests for attention(sustained attention,Selective attention and Attention Blink).ResultsOn the Continuous Performance Test(CPT),depressed participants needed more reaction time and made more mistake than nondepressed participants.There were no differences between two block in reaction time in the CPT of patients and control subjects.The performance on the Stroop Color-Word Test was impaired in depression.Compared with normal subjects,depressed participants presented increased choice reaction times(CRT).Stroop interference was higher in depressed patients than in controls.On Attention Blink(AB) paradigm,both groups performed equally well at reporting the first target appearing in a rapidly presented stream of stimuli.All groups showed an AB,and AB for depressive participants were larger and longer.Correlations were observed between the HAMD score and the reaction time in CPT.ConclusionThe depressive participants showed a decrement tendency in vigilance,a higher Stroop interference and a larger and longer AB.

Key words: depression, sustained attention, selective attention, Attention Blink