[Frontal lobe involvement in elderly major depression]

It is acknowledged that major depression (MD) entails alterations in moods, physiological dysfunctions and cognitive dysfunctions. The neuropsychological profile of this mental disorder, however, is still unknown. Furthermore, in the nosological delimitation of depressive disorders there are different categories, which makes it still more difficult to establish the cognitive dysfunction of MD. Over the last few years, a great deal of effort has been aimed at establishing a neuropsychological profile of elderly major depression (EMD) as a distinct depressive disorder, since it also involves other variables such as the course and response to pharmacological treatment. AIMS. The objective of this study is to review the present state of the cognitive deficits in EMD and their possible neurobiological correlates.

From a search in the Medline database using the keywords elderly major depressive disorders , cognitive function , frontal lobes and prefrontal area , we selected studies that had been conducted over the last 10 years.

Recent studies have found mnemonic deficits, together with an executive dysfunction in EMD. Bearing in mind the interactions between affection, motivation and cognitive function enables us to better understand the involvement of the fronto subcortical pathways in this disorder. Moreover, future research should centre on the pathways that connect the frontal lobes and, more specifically, those between the prefrontal dorsolateral area and practically the rest of the brain, since, from what can be observed in the findings obtained, the executive dysfunction could be due to a brain connection disorder