Experimental evidence for a motivational origin of cognitive impairment in major depression
- 16 November 2007
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Psychological Medicine
- Vol. 38 (2), 237-246
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291707002206
Abstract
Background: Diagnostic criteria and empirical evidence support the existence of cognitive deficits in depression. However, depressed mood, loss of interest and low self-efficacy might influence cognitive performance.Method: Goal-setting instructions were used to promote motivation in depressed patients and control subjects during neuropsychological assessment. The resulting performance was compared with performance using standard instructions. Sixty in-patients with non-psychotic unipolar depression and 60 age- and education-matched healthy control subjects were assessed with standard neuropsychological tests [the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), the Digit Symbol Test (DST), the Regensburg Word Fluency Test (RWT), and the Number Combination Test (Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test, ZVT)] using either goal-setting or standard test instructions.Results: Depressed patients showed lower baseline performance and lower generalized self-efficacy (pF(5, 54)=3.611,p=0.007] and psychomotor performance by 13% [ZVT:F(3, 56)=3.667,p=0.017]. Consequently, patients and control subjects demonstrated similar results when goal-setting instructions were applied. Goal-setting instructions showed a statistical trend, increasing patients' performance in the DST by 12% [F(1, 58)=2.990,p=0.089], although their verbal fluency measured by the RWT did not increase. No significant correlations of increased performance with generalized self-efficacy were found.Conclusions: Cognitive deficits in depressed patients are influenced by motivational shortcomings. Because generalized self-efficacy failed to correlate to increased test performance, future research needs to disentangle the effective components of goal-setting instructions. Task-specific self-efficacy as well as enhancement of task-focused attention might underlie the significant goal-setting effect in depressed patients.This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.American Psychologist, 2002
- Neuropsychological Deficits in Psychotic Versus Nonpsychotic Major Depression and No Mental IllnessAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2000
- Emotional bias and inhibitory control processes in mania and depressionPsychological Medicine, 1999
- The neuropsychological profile in unipolar depressionTrends in Cognitive Sciences, 1998
- Relation between rumination and impaired memory in dysphoric moods.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1998
- A quantitative review of cognitive deficits in depression and Alzheimer-type dementiaJournal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 1997
- Explicit Memory and Repetition Priming in DepressionArchives of General Psychiatry, 1991
- Depressive deficits in memory: Focusing attention improves subsequent recall.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1991
- Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1978
- A RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSIONJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1960