Logo image
Back
Impaired verbal memory in young adults with unipolar and bipolar depression
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Impaired verbal memory in young adults with unipolar and bipolar depression

Daniel F Hermens, S L Naismith, M A Redoblado Hodge, E M Scott and I B Hickie
Early Intervention in Psychiatry, Vol.4(3), pp.227-233
2010
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7893.2010.00194.x
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7893.2010.00194.xView
Published Version

Abstract

bipolar disorder depressive disorder memory neuropsychology young adults
Aim: Early stages of severe mood disorders may be accompanied by neurocognitive changes. Specifically, deficits in verbal memory have been linked to depression in young people. This study examined whether young adults with unipolar compared with bipolar depression showed similar neurocognitive deficits. Methods: A total of 57 young adults (16-32 years) were assessed in this study. Twenty with unipolar and 20 with bipolar depression, all currently depressed, were compared with 17 healthy controls. Neuropsychological assessment included psychomotor speed, attention for routine mental operations, attentional switching, executive control and verbal learning and memory. Results: Both unipolar and bipolar subjects showed significant impairments in verbal memory and attentional switching compared with controls. Both mood disorder groups showed no impairments in psychomotor speed, attention for routine mental operations and executive control. Effects size calculations show that the unipolar and bipolar groups do not differ from each other across a range of neurocognitive measures. Conclusion: Neurocognitive deficits in young adults with current depressive syndromes appear to differ from those typically seen in older patients. In early adulthood, both unipolar and bipolar depression may be distinguished by poor verbal memory, despite intact speed of processing, attention and executive functions. This study suggests that there is utility in neuropsychological testing for young adults in the early stages of severe mood disorders. In order to prevent neurobiological changes inherent to the disease, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions that target verbal memory deficits may be optimally delivered early in the disease course. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Details

Metrics

533 Record Views
48 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Web Of Science research areas
Psychiatry

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

Source: InCites

Logo image