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The association between depressive and cognitive symptoms in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2008

Carol Hudon ,
Sylvie Belleville  and
Serge Gauthier
Carol Hudon*
Affiliation:
École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada Centre de recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, Québec, Canada
Sylvie Belleville
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
Serge Gauthier
Affiliation:
McGill Center for Studies in Aging, Montréal, Québec, Canada
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Carol Hudon, Centre de recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, 2601, ch. de la Canardière F-4500, Québec, QC, Canada, G1J 2G3. Phone: +1 418 663 5741; Fax: +1 418 663 9540. Email: carol.hudon@psy.ulaval.ca.
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Abstract

Background: Depressive symptoms are frequently observed in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, little is known regarding the cognitive characteristics of this important subgroup.

Methods: We examined executive functions (controlled inhibition) and verbal episodic memory in 33 healthy older adults (control group), 18 older adults with amnestic MCI plus subclinical depressive symptoms (a-MCI/D+ group), and 26 older adults with amnestic MCI but no depressive symptoms (a-MCI group).

Results: Compared to the a-MCI and control groups, patients with a-MCI/D+ showed poor controlled inhibition. Moreover, in verbal episodic memory these patients recalled fewer words than control participants on immediate free, delayed free, and delayed total (free plus cued) recall. Performance on immediate recall suggested a self-retrieval deficit, but delayed performance also revealed the existence of an encoding impairment. In the a-MCI group, participants exhibited normal performance on the executive task, but pervasive memory impairment; the memory deficit concerned free and total recall on both immediate and delayed tasks, suggesting the existence of encoding and self-retrieval disturbances.

Conclusions: This study reveals differences between the pattern of cognitive impairment for a-MCI/D+ and a-MCI subgroups particularly at the level of executive capacities. In terms of memory functioning, the differences between the subgroups were more subtle; more studies are needed in order to better characterize the memory impairment of a-MCI/D+ and a-MCI patients.

Keywords

mild cognitive impairmentdepressive symptomsAlzheimer's diseaseexecutive functionsepisodic memoryneuropsychologyneuropsychiatry
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 710 - 723
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2008

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