Visually mediated functioning improves following treatment of hoarding disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Hoarding disorder (HD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition affecting 2-6% of adults.
• Existing research indicates neuropsychological deficits in visual memory, detection, and categorization in individuals with HD.
• No prior studies have investigated the link between neurocognitive function and treatment efficacy for HD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the association between neurocognitive functioning and treatment outcomes in HD.
• To assess the impact of HD-specific treatment on cognitive functioning.

Main Methods:

• A randomized trial involving 323 individuals with HD assigned to peer- or clinician-led group behavioral treatment for 20 weeks.
• Neuropsychological testing was administered pre- and post-treatment to 242 participants across eight cognitive domains.
• Statistical analyses included multiple regression to examine baseline neurocognitive function's effect on treatment response and MANOVA for pre- to post-treatment changes.

Main Results:

• Sixty-seven percent of participants exhibited cognitive impairment in at least one domain.
• Pre-treatment neurocognitive functioning did not significantly predict treatment outcomes.
• Significant improvements were observed in visual memory, visual detection, decision-making, information processing speed, visuospatial processing, and attention/working memory post-treatment.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive impairment patterns in HD align with previous findings.
• Neuropsychological functioning showed improvement across multiple domains after targeted HD treatment.
• Baseline cognitive abilities did not influence the response to behavioral treatment for hoarding disorder.