THE MOTOR AGITATION AND RETARDATION SCALE - A SCALE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF MOTOR ABNORMALITIES IN DEPRESSED-PATIENTS

Increasing recognition of the neurologic aspects of depressive disorde r has aroused new interest in the potential neuropathologic significan ce of ''psychomotor'' symptoms in depression. Psychomotor symptoms hav e yet to be clearly defined, however. The Motor Agitation and Retardat ion Scale (MARS) was developed to provide a comprehensive and nonredun dant measure of the motor abnormalities associated with agitation and retardation in depression. Forty-one depressed inpatients and 20 norma l control subjects were assessed. In this sample, the MARS provided a reliable and valid scale for the clinical assessment of 19 abnormal mo tor behaviors associated with agitation and retardation in depression. The MARS may be useful for investigation of the pathophysiologic sign ificance of various manifestations of motor abnormalities in depressio n and, as part of a larger battery, for the investigation of the relat ive contribution of motor abnormalities to psychomotor impairment in d epression.