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RESEARCH PRODUCT

A meta-analysis of cognitive performance in melancholic versus non-melancholic unipolar depression

Giovanni CamardeseLucia IoimeNicola VeroneseMarco SolmiRiccardo GuglielmoLeonardo ZaninottoAlessandro Serretti

subject

AdultMaleCognitiveSettore MED/25 - PSCHIATRIACognitive; Depressive disorder; Major depression; Melancholic; NeuropsychologyNeuropsychological TestsVerbal learning03 medical and health sciences0302 clinical medicineMajor depression Depressive disorder Melancholic Cognitive NeuropsychologyNeuropsychologymedicineHumansMajor depressionCognitive; Depressive disorder; Major depression; Melancholic; Neuropsychology; Psychiatry and Mental Health; Clinical PsychologyEffects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performanceDepressive Disorder MajorMelancholicWorking memoryDepressive disorderNeuropsychologyCognitionMiddle Agedmedicine.diseaseExecutive functions030227 psychiatryPsychiatry and Mental healthClinical PsychologyMajor depressive disorderFemalePsychologyCognition DisordersVisual learning030217 neurology & neurosurgeryClinical psychology

description

Abstract Background Recently there is increasing recognition of cognitive dysfunction as a core feature of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The goal of the current meta-analysis was to review and examine in detail the specific features of cognitive dysfunction in Melancholic (MEL) versus Non-Melancholic (NMEL) MDD. Methods An electronic literature search was performed to find studies comparing cognitive performance in MEL versus NMEL. A meta-analysis of broad cognitive domains ( processing speed , reasoning/problem solving , verbal learning , visual learning , attention/working memory ) was conducted on all included studies (n=9). Sensitivity and meta-regression analyses were also conducted to detect possible effects of moderator variables (age, gender, education, symptom severity and presence of treatments). Results MEL patients were older and more severly depressed than NMEL subjects. The MEL group was characterized by a worse cognitive performance in attention/working memory (ES=−0.31), visual learning (ES=−0.35) and reasoning/problem solving (ES=−0.46). No difference was detected in drug-free patients by sensitivity analyses. No effect was found for any of our moderators on the cognitive performance in MEL vs NMEL. Conclusion Our findings seem to support a moderate but specific effect of melancholic features in affecting the cognitive performance of MDD, in particular as regards visual learning and executive functions.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2016-01-01
10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.039http://hdl.handle.net/10807/95306