POSTSTROKE DEPRESSION - RELATIONSHIPS WITH MORPHOLOGICAL DAMAGE AND COGNITION OVER TIME

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships betw een poststroke depression (PSD), lesion location and cognitive deficit s after stroke. We studied 20 patients within the first month after cl inical onset (T1), and one year later (T2), PSD was observed in 55% of patients at T1 and 35% of patients at T2. At T1, depression was relia bly correlated with dorsal lesions in the right-hemisphere and anterio r lesions in the left hemisphere, Lesion location was no longer a sign ificant factor determining PSD at T2. Changes in PSD, front T1 to T2, were inversely correlated with the performances in cognitive tests exp loring the domains of attention, visuospatial learning, executive/moto r functions, and with the global composite cognitive score, Our data s uggest that: 1) in the mix of influences that may produce PSD, lesion location is the main factor determining mood changes after stroke in t he first month; 2) PSD produces deficits in attention, learning, and e xecutive/motor functions, without affecting language and other cogniti ve domains.