The present study examined the relationship between asymmetries in frontal brain activity and depression during a resting state and an emotional challenge task involving approach and withdrawal-related facial expressions to statistically test the capability model of individual differences in frontal EEG asymmetry, which predicted that individual differences in EEG asymmetry (associated with depression status) would be stronger during emotional challenge than during a baseline rest session. In pursuit of this goal, three hypotheses were tested. First, it was predicted that individuals with a lifetime history of depression would display lower relative left frontal activity than never-depressed individuals across all conditions (approach, withdrawal, and rest), consistent with much of the state and trait EEG asymmetry literature. This prediction was confirmed in individuals with current and past depression for the CSD-transformed EEG asymmetry data. Although this hypothesis was also supported for approach and withdrawal state emotion conditions for AVG, Cz, and LM reference modes, depressed and never-depressed groups did not differ in frontal brain activity during the resting condition for these montages. The second hypothesis asserted that, in line with the capability
