Visual Working Memory in Older Adults With and Without Early-Onset Depression: An Ecological Momentary Assessment...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Early-onset depression (ED) can have long-term effects on cognitive function.
• Visual working memory (VWM) is crucial for daily activities and may be affected by a history of depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of early-onset depression (ED) on visual working memory (VWM) in older adults.
• To explore differences in VWM between individuals with and without a history of depression (CON).
• To examine VWM in remitted versus non-remitted depression.

Main Methods:

• 79 participants (aged 55-79) completed lab-based neuropsychological tests.
• Ecological momentary assessments were conducted over 14 days using smartphones.
• Visual working memory (VWM) was assessed using a dot memory task, measuring response time and error distance.

Main Results:

• Participants with ED exhibited slower baseline response times compared to controls.
• The ED group showed faster decreases in response time over the study period, particularly the actively depressed subgroup.
• No significant differences were found in error distance levels or change rates between groups.
• Within-person variability in error distance decreased less in the ED group over time.

Conclusions:

• Visual working memory (VWM) may be a modifiable target for cognitive enhancement in individuals with depression.
• Cognitive functioning in older adults with a history of depression can potentially be improved.