Schedule of Events | Search Abstracts | Invited Symposia | Symposia | Poster Sessions | Data Blitz

Deficits of response inhibition in depression arise from subphases of inhibitory control

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Darcy Waller¹ (darcy_diesburg@brown.edu), Eric Tirrell², Linda Carpenter^1,2, Stephanie Jones¹; ¹Brown University, ²Butler Hospital, Providence, RI

Inhibitory control deficits may underlie depression’s most troubling symptoms. Response inhibition (RI), measured during the Stop-Signal Task (SST), is often but not always impaired in major depressive disorder (MDD). We predict paradoxical findings arise from imprecision of estimated RI metrics such as the Stop-Signal Reaction Time (SSRT). Furthermore, recent RI literature emphasizes that stopping involves a fast, nonselective Pause-phase followed by a slower, selective Cancel-phase. If and how Pause and Cancel processes are disrupted in MDD is unknown. We measured muscle and brain (EMG/EEG) correlates of Pause and Cancel in MDD patients to test if they significantly differ from Healthy Controls (HC). MDD patients (N=29) completed the SST while EEG and hand EMG were collected. Their performance and EMG/EEG signatures of Pause and Cancel were compared to a sample of healthy controls with open-source SST data (N=20). MDD patients responded more slowly than HCs. Their SSRT was also significantly longer (t = -2.76, p = .008), indicating impaired RI. Though timing of the Pause process did not differ in MDD versus HCs (t = -1.24, p = .22), residual EMG during stopping was higher during the Cancel period in MDD (t = 2.37, p = .02). MDD was also associated with significantly smaller frontal P3 peaks (348-402ms, p’s < .05). Result support that RI abnormalities in depression are driven by changes to the Cancel process, purportedly implemented by indirect pathway circuits that change in depression. Our work sets the stage for investigation of Cancel as a cognitive factor in MDD.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Monitoring & inhibitory control