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Related Experiment Videos

Depression in multiple sclerosis: relationship to working memory capacity.

P A Arnett1, C I Higginson, W D Voss

  • 1Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Spokane, USA. paa6@psu.edu

Neuropsychology
|October 20, 1999
PubMed
Summary
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Depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is linked to reduced working memory capacity. This study found depressed MS patients performed worse on working memory tasks, suggesting a specific cognitive deficit.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Clinical Neurology

Background:

  • Depression is common in multiple sclerosis (MS) and linked to cognitive deficits.
  • A potential explanation is reduced working memory capacity in depressed MS patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that depressed MS patients have reduced working memory capacity.
  • To compare working memory and short-term memory performance in depressed MS patients, non-depressed MS patients, and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

  • Used reading span task to assess working memory capacity.
  • Used word span task to assess short-term memory not taxing working memory.
  • Compared performance across three groups: depressed MS patients, non-depressed MS patients, and healthy controls.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Depressed MS patients showed significantly worse performance on the reading span task (working memory capacity).
  • No significant difference was found in the word span task (short-term memory) between groups.
  • Reading span performance correlated with other cognitively demanding tasks previously shown to be impaired in depressed MS patients.

Conclusions:

  • Results support a capacity-reduction model for working memory in depressed MS patients.
  • The central executive component of the working memory system appears most affected in depressed MS patients.
  • Findings highlight specific cognitive impacts of depression in the context of multiple sclerosis.