COGNITIVE-FUNCTIONING IN OLDER DEPRESSED OUTPATIENTS - RELATIONSHIP OF PRESENCE AND SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION TO NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST-SCORES

Neuropsychological evaluation of 73 older healthy, unmedicated outpati ents with major depression and 110 controls suggested that relatively distinct cognitive profiles map correspond to the presence vs. severit y of depression. Specifically, the presence of depression was associat ed with subtle weaknesses in visual memory and nonverbal intelligence, with sparing of verbal skills (verbal intelligence, language, and ver bal memory), constructional ability, attention, information-processing speed, and executive functions. In contrast, increasing severity of d epression was associated with mild weaknesses, primarily in informatio n-processing speed and executive skills, but was essentially unrelated to memory (verbal or visual), intelligence, language skills, construc tional ability, or basic attention. Findings are discussed in terms of a possible state vs. trait modal of depression.