LATERALIZED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING IN DEPRESSIVE PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER DRUG-THERAPY

Several decades of research have led to different hypotheses about cog nitive functioning in depression; one of the hypotheses states that th ere is altered functioning of the hemispheres during a depressive epis ode. Lateralization studies have found diminished neuropsychological f unctioning in depressive patients; especially right-hemisphere functio ns seem impaired. In our study we used conventional neuropsychological tests to study shifts in hemispheric functioning, Neuropsychological testing before and after therapy in 52 (for the most part therapy-resi stant) depressives showed no substantial effects in lateralized functi oning. None of the measures enabled prediction of response to treatmen t; however 17 different interaction variables were identified, five of which make an unique contribution. (C) 1996 Society of Biological Psy chiatry