The cognitive bias task (CBT) in healthy controls: a replication study.

Contextual processing is the selection and bringing "on-line" of internal representations of a task that can be used in planning and mediating goal-appropriate behavioral responses and is a relevant issue that probably is involved in many neurological and psychiatric conditions. The Cognitive Bias Task is a measure of context-dependent responding, is sensitive to quadrant-lesion effects, and interacts with gender. The goal of this study was to replicate and detail more completely the method of context-dependent processing for healthy control patients on the Cognitive Bias Task. The results show the presence of three different cognitive patterns that could biases the response of control patients: context-independent, context-dependent, and mixed. Gender, but not handedness, significantly influences contextual processing, with more females than males producing a context-independent pattern of responding. Test results and the relation of contextual processing in psychiatric disorders were discussed.