HAND FATIGUE ASYMMETRY IN THE MOTOR PERFORMANCES OF WOMEN WITH DEPRESSED MOOD

The influence of depressed mood on the cerebral hemispheric motor func tioning 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 trai t anxiety, suggestive of an anxious-depressive state with heightened a rousal. A hand dynamometer was used as a standardized measure of hemis pheric motor functioning, such as hand-grip strength and fatigue. Prim ary findings indicated that the women with depressed mood displayed si gnificantly less hand-grip fatigue of the left hand than did nondepres sed women. These results suggest possible arousal of the right cerebra l hemisphere in this sample of anxious-depressed women; we discuss the se findings in terms of arousal theory.