Shared and distinct brain fMRI response during performance of working memory tasks in adult patients with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder

Abstract Background Cognitive disturbances are common and disabling features of major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous studies provide limited insight into the co-occurrence of hot (emotion-dependent) and cold (emotion-independent) cognitive disturbances in MDD. Therefore, we here map both hot and cold cognition in depressed patients compared to healthy individuals. Methods We collected neuropsychological data from 92 antidepressant-free MDD patients and 103 healthy controls. All participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery assessing hot cognition including emotion processing, affective verbal memory and social cognition as well as cold cognition including verbal and working memory and reaction time. Results The depressed patients showed small to moderate negative affective biases on emotion processing outcomes, moderate increases in ratings of guilt and shame and moderate deficits in verbal and working memory as well as moderately slowed reaction time compared to healthy controls. We observed no correlations between individual cognitive tasks and depression severity in the depressed patients. Lastly, an exploratory cluster analysis suggested the presence of three cognitive profiles in MDD: one characterised predominantly by disturbed hot cognitive functions, one characterised predominantly by disturbed cold cognitive functions and one characterised by global impairment across all cognitive domains. Notably, the three cognitive profiles differed in depression severity. Conclusion We identified a pattern of small to moderate disturbances in both hot and cold cognition in MDD. While none of the individual cognitive outcomes mapped onto depression severity, cognitive profile clusters did. Overall cognition-based stratification tools may be useful in precision medicine approaches to MDD.

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Childhood Adversity Impairs Theory of Mind Abilities in Adult Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00867 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Simon ◽

Nándor Németh ◽

Mónika Gálber ◽

Elza Lakner ◽

Eszter Csernela ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Childhood Adversity ◽

Adult Patients ◽

Major Depressive

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Electroconvulsive therapy for older adult patients with major depressive disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1111/psyg.12359 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 468-475 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Min Dong ◽

Xiao‐Min Zhu ◽

Wei Zheng ◽

Xiao‐Hong Li ◽

Chee H. Ng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Older Adult ◽

Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽

Adult Patients ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Emotional working memory in patients with major depressive disorder

Journal of International Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0300060518758225 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (5) ◽

pp. 1734-1746 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mi Li ◽

Lei Feng ◽

Xingwang Liu ◽

Ming Zhang ◽

Bingbing Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Response Time ◽

Memory Effect ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Emotional Pictures ◽

Mood Congruent Memory

Objective This study was performed to examine the working memory (WM) encoding and retrieval abilities in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and determine whether a mood-congruent memory effect is present. Methods The modified Sternberg WM paradigm with positive, negative, and neutral emotional pictures was used to investigate the WM abilities of 26 patients with MDD and 26 healthy controls (HCs). Results No significant difference in picture WM was found between the MDD and HC groups; however, the accuracy of picture position WM was significantly lower and the response time was significantly longer in the MDD than HC group, regardless of the picture or position WM. Additionally, in the MDD group, the accuracy of negative picture/position WM was significantly higher than that of positive picture/position WM. Conclusions These results suggest that in patients with MDD, spatial WM impairment was more severe than object WM. In addition, these patients’ WM retrieval was impaired, resulting in a decrease in WM retrieval ability, which may be an important cause of the slow thought in patients with MDD. Moreover, patients with depression have a mood-congruent memory effect, which may be an important factor in the occurrence and maintenance of depression.

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