Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026
Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
Cognitive differences among depressed and non-depressed MCI participants: a project FRONTIER study
Leigh A Johnson1, Cortney Mauer, Danielle Jahn
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA. leigh.johnson@unthsc.edu
Objective:
Depression is the most commonly reported psychiatric symptom in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, more research is needed examining the impact of depression on cognitive functioning in MCI patients. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in cognitive functioning in a sample of community- based, depressed, and non-depressed MCI patients.
Methods:
One hundred and five participants with MCI were included in this study. Participants were recruited from Project FRONTIER, a study of rural health. Depression was assessed via the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30), and cognition was measured using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status.
Results:
The results indicated that depressed MCI participants performed significantly worse than their non-depressed counterparts on several cognitive measures. MCI participants with depression scored significantly lower on immediate memory (t = 3.4, p < 0.01) and delayed memory (t = 2.8, p < 0.01) indices than their non-depressed counterparts.
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicated that MCI participants with depression experienced greater deficits in cognitive functioning than their non-depressed counterparts. Depressed MCI participants exhibited greater deficits in both immediate and delayed memory. Thus, identifying and treating depression in individuals with MCI may improve memory and cognitive functioning.
