Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...

Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia indicate a reduction or absence of typical behaviors and emotional responses found in healthy individuals, while positive symptoms reflect an excess or distortion of normal functioning.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...

Cognitive Development During Adulthood

Cognitive Development During Adulthood

Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood, undergoing significant shifts across early, middle, and late stages. Individual transition occurs from adolescent idealism to pragmatic and adaptable thinking in early adulthood. During this period, individuals learn to integrate personal beliefs with the recognition that other perspectives are equally valid. Exposure to the complexities of modern society, diverse experiences, and higher education contribute to this adaptive thought process,...

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism

Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...

Depression: Overview

Depression: Overview

Depression is a prevalent mental illness marked by persistent sadness and lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities. It can take several forms, including major depression, persistent depressive disorder, and bipolar I and II disorders. Symptoms range from emotional changes like chronic worry to physical changes like sleep disturbances and suicidal thoughts. From a neurobiological perspective, depression is believed to be triggered by abnormalities in the brain's prefrontal cortex,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Among Veterans With Homeless Experience in Permanent Supportive Housing.

JAMA network open·2026

Same author

Brain Health Across the Life Span: A Framework for Future Studies: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Stroke·2026

Same author

A facility-based "brain gym": feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a long-duration, low-frequency dual-task and exergaming intervention in older adults.

Frontiers in psychology·2026

Same author

Correction: The role of brain health and resilience in reshaping trajectories of late-life neuropsychiatric disorders.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026

Same author

Risk Factors for Falls in Older Depressed Adults Treated with Bupropion: An Analysis of the OPTIMUM Randomized Clinical Trial.

Journal of general internal medicine·2026

Same author

The role of brain health and resilience in reshaping trajectories of late-life neuropsychiatric disorders.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

Published on: February 14, 2014

Apathy Mediates Cognitive Difficulties in Geriatric Depression.

Cynthia M Funes¹, Helen Lavretsky¹, Linda Ercoli¹

¹Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

|July 31, 2017

Summary

Apathy significantly worsens cognitive control in older adults with depression, particularly in women. Reducing apathy may improve cognitive function in this population.

Keywords:

Apathy cognition late life depression sex differences

More Related Videos

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression

Published on: April 26, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

Published on: February 14, 2014

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression

Published on: April 26, 2024

Area of Science:

Gerontology
Neuroscience
Psychiatry

Background:

Cognitive impairment can persist in late-life depression even after mood symptom remission.
Apathy is a common symptom in late-life depression and is linked to poorer clinical outcomes.
Understanding the mechanisms linking depression, apathy, and cognition is crucial for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether the severity of apathy mediates cognitive difficulties in older adults with major depression.
To examine the specific impact of apathy on memory and cognitive control.
To explore potential sex differences in the mediation effects of apathy on cognition.

Main Methods:

Analysis of baseline data from 138 older adults with depression.
Comprehensive evaluations of depression, apathy, and cognitive functions (memory and cognitive control).
Mediation analyses to assess the role of apathy in the depression-cognition relationship, with subgroup analysis by sex.

Main Results:

Increased apathy was associated with poorer cognitive control but not memory.
Depression severity correlated with worse cognitive control, not memory.
Apathy significantly mediated the effect of depression on cognitive control, accounting for 21% of the total effect; this mediation was pronounced in women (47% of total effect) but absent in men.

Conclusions:

Apathy plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between depression and cognitive impairment in older adults.
Targeting apathy reduction may be a viable strategy to improve cognitive function in late-life depression.
Interventions aimed at decreasing apathy could enhance cognitive control and overall outcomes for older individuals with depression, especially women.