Depressed Recall Research Articles

Standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography study of the amygdala activity in patients with comorbid major depressive disorder and anxiety symptoms

Major depressive disorder (MDD) often coexists with anxiety disorders or symptoms, as identified by previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. These studies have found abnormal amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the amygdala, which serve as traits and state markers of MDD. This study used standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (swLORETA) technology to explore amygdala markers in patients with comorbid MDD and anxiety. Participants included patients with MDD comorbid with anxiety symptoms (MDD group) and healthy controls (HC group) who completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). EEG data collected under resting state, happiness recall, and depressive recall tasks were converted into current-source density (CSD) values using swLORETA to assess amygdala activation. The results indicated higher beta2, beta3, and high beta levels in both the left and right amygdalae during the resting state in the MDD group than in the HC group. Similarly, elevated levels of beta2, beta3, and high beta were observed in the left and right amygdalae of the MDD group during happiness and depressive recall tasks. These findings support the presence of hyperactivity in the amygdala under resting state and emotional tasks in patients with comorbid MDD and anxiety symptoms.

Factors Associated With Successful Amygdala Neurofeedback Learning During Positive Memory Recall in Depression

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) show hypoactive amygdala responses to positive stimuli. By providing real-time fMRI neurofeedback regarding amygdala activity, patients with MDD are able to increase their amygdala response during positive memory recall, resulting in significant symptom improvement. However, approximately 30% of participants are unable to increase their amygdala response with training. Here, we combine data from multiple experiments to examine whether certain factors are related to neurofeedback learning success.

Electroencephalogram patterns in patients comorbid with major depressive disorder and anxiety symptoms: Proposing a hypothesis based on hypercortical arousal and not frontal or parietal alpha asymmetry

BackgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is often comorbid with anxiety disorders or symptoms. Brain hyperactivity, frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), and parietal alpha asymmetry (PAA) have been considered as trait markers in patients with MDD. This study investigated the electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns among patients with MDD comorbid with anxiety symptoms. MethodsOne hundred and thirty-five patients with MDD comorbid with anxiety (MDD group) and 135 healthy controls (HC group) were analyzed. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI–II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were completed, and 19 EEG channels were measured during the resting state, depressive recall and recovery tasks, and happiness recall and recovery tasks. FAA and PAA were computed by log (F4 alpha)–log (F3 alpha) and log (P4 alpha)–log (P3 alpha). ResultsThe FAA and PAA indices between the two groups showed no significant differences; however, compared with the HC group, the MDD group had lower total delta and theta values, and higher total beta, low beta, and high beta values in the resting state. The total beta value positively correlated with the BDI–II and BAI scores in the MDD group. LimitationsMost patients had anxious MDD and taking prescriptions, antidepressants or benzodiazepine may affect EEG patterns. ConclusionCompared with HCs, patients with MDD comorbid with anxiety had a higher beta activity in the entire brain region, supporting the role of brain hyperactivity, instead of FAA or PAA, as a trait marker in these patients. A neurofeedback protocol could be developed in future based on the brain hyperactivity findings.

A Grounded Theory Investigation Into Sophomore Students' Recall of Depression During Their Freshman Year in College: A Pilot Study.

Using a grounded theory approach, the current descriptive qualitative design was conducted with sophomore students to understand the meaning participants gave their freshman experiences with depression. Twelve participants were recruited using scripted class announcements across campus. After informed consent, interviews began with the question: What was the experience of your freshman year in college? All interviews were completed with the primary investigator and transcribed verbatim. Interviews were analyzed using constant comparative methodology. Data collection continued until saturation was achieved. Four major categories emerged, including the category of symptoms and emotions. This category included the subcategories expressions of stress, changes in eating habits, sleep issues, and procrastination. Descriptive examples of each were found throughout the interview data. With greater understanding of living with depression as a college freshman, health care and college student affairs professionals will have additional evidence to guide their practices. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(9),44-50.].

Rethinking a Negative Event: The Affective Impact of Ruminative versus Imagery-Based Processing of Aversive Autobiographical Memories.

Ruminative (abstract verbal) processing during recall of aversive autobiographical memories may serve to dampen their short-term affective impact. Experimental studies indeed demonstrate that verbal processing of non-autobiographical material and positive autobiographical memories evokes weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing. In the current study, we hypothesized that abstract verbal or concrete verbal processing of an aversive autobiographical memory would result in weaker affective responses than imagery-based processing. The affective impact of abstract verbal versus concrete verbal versus imagery-based processing during recall of an aversive autobiographical memory was investigated in a non-clinical sample (n = 99) using both an observational and an experimental design. Observationally, it was examined whether spontaneous use of processing modes (both state and trait measures) was associated with impact of aversive autobiographical memory recall on negative and positive affect. Experimentally, the causal relation between processing modes and affective impact was investigated by manipulating the processing mode during retrieval of the same aversive autobiographical memory. Main findings were that higher levels of trait (but not state) measures of both ruminative and imagery-based processing and depressive symptomatology were positively correlated with higher levels of negative affective impact in the observational part of the study. In the experimental part, no main effect of processing modes on affective impact of autobiographical memories was found. However, a significant moderating effect of depressive symptomatology was found. Only for individuals with low levels of depressive symptomatology, concrete verbal (but not abstract verbal) processing of the aversive autobiographical memory did result in weaker affective responses, compared to imagery-based processing. These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that ruminative processing of aversive autobiographical memories serves to avoid the negative emotions evoked by such memories. Furthermore, findings suggest that depressive symptomatology is associated with the spontaneous use and the affective impact of processing modes during recall of aversive autobiographical memories. Clinical studies are needed that examine the role of processing modes during aversive autobiographical memory recall in depression, including the potential effectiveness of targeting processing modes in therapy.

Functional neuroimaging of sex differences in autobiographical memory recall in depression.

Females are more likely than males to develop major depressive disorder (MDD). The current study used fMRI to compare the neural correlates of autobiographical memory (AM) recall between males and females diagnosed with MDD. AM overgenerality is a persistent cognitive deficit in MDD, the magnitude of which is correlated with depressive severity only in females. Delineating the neurobiological correlates of this deficit may elucidate the nature of sex-differences in the diathesis for developing MDD. Participants included unmedicated males and females diagnosed with MDD (n = 20/group), and an age and sex matched healthy control group. AM recall in response to positive, negative, and neutral cue words was compared with a semantic memory task. The behavioral properties of AMs did not differ between MDD males and females. In contrast, main effects of sex on cerebral hemodynamic activity were observed in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus during recall of positive specific memories, and middle prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and precuneus during recall of negative specific memories. Moreover, main effects of diagnosis on regional hemodynamic activity were observed in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and mPFC during positive specific memory recall, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during negative specific memory recall. Sex × diagnosis interactions were evident in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, caudate, and precuneus during positive memory recall, and in the posterior cingulate cortex, insula, precuneus and thalamus during negative specific memory recall. The differential hemodynamic changes conceivably may reflect sex-specific cognitive strategies during recall of AMs irrespective of the phenomenological properties of those memories.

Tendency to Recall Remote Memories as a Mediator of Overgeneral Recall in Depression

In the current study, remoteness of memories predicted overgeneral memory (OGM), and the tendency for remote recall was unrelated to either rumination or avoidance tendencies. In Experiments 1 and 2, dysphoric and nondysphoric participants dated their memories on autobiographical memory tests. Remoteness was related to OGM regardless of dysphoria. Furthermore, when instructed to recall from a specific time period, nondysphoric and dysphoric individuals showed similar levels of OGM for remote events and similar levels of memory specificity for recent events. Dysphoria correlated with OGM and the tendency to recall more remote memories, but remoteness was a better predictor of OGM and emerged as a mediating factor. In Experiment 3, remote memory recall was a better predictor of OGM than were either rumination or avoidance tendencies and was not correlated with either. We suggest that OGM is crucially tied to remote recall tendencies and discuss the theoretical and clinical implications within the framework of current models.

Comparative physiological reactivity during script-driven recall in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Increased physiological responsiveness to trauma memories is common in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is related to higher felt memory intrusiveness. Physiological reactivity to remembering of distressing personal events in depression and its association with memory quality have not been examined. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) reactivity during script-driven recall were assessed in participants with a depressive episode without PTSD (n = 24), participants with PTSD (n = 24), and nondisordered controls (n = 24). Participants reported on event impact and memory quality. PTSD participants showed higher HR and SC reactivity during trauma recall compared with recall of other events and compared with depressed participants for HR and SC reactivity and compared with nondisordered participants for HR reactivity. Although reactivity between depressed and nondisordered participants was not significantly different, the findings indicated a consistent trend toward an attenuation of reactivity to memories of events subjectively associated with symptom onset for those with depression. There was no evidence that the presence of depression impacted the increased physiological responsiveness observed in PTSD. Higher avoidance was associated with lower HR reactivity to the event memory for depressed participants, whereas higher avoidance was associated with higher HR reactivity to the trauma memory for PTSD participants. Trauma remembering in PTSD is distinctive from comparable remembering in depression in triggering high physiological reactivity. Avoidance of remembering the event predicts attenuated physiological reactivity to critical event recall in depression.

Depressive mood and frontal alpha asymmetry during the luteal phase in premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) experience moderate to severe physical and mood symptoms during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. The purposes of this study were to examine whether there were significant differences in frontal alpha asymmetry between PMDD and non-PMDD women during a depressive induction condition during the luteal and follicular phases and to examine the relations between premenstrual distress and depressive symptoms, and frontal alpha asymmetry. The participants included 12 college women with PMDD and 12 without PMDD as controls. Frontal electroencephalograms (F3/F4) were measured during the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle in the following sequence: resting baseline, depressive induction, depressive recall, recovery, and relaxation. Premenstrual distress questionnaires and the Beck Depression Inventory II were administered. The participants with PMDD had higher frontal alpha asymmetry than those without PMDD during the depressive induction and relaxation conditions only during the luteal phase. For PMDD and non-PMDD during the luteal phase, a positive correlation was observed between negative affect (measured by premenstrual distress questionnaires) and frontal alpha asymmetry under the depressive induction stage. In addition, higher Beck Depression Inventory II somatic depression was positively correlated with frontal alpha asymmetry under the depressive induction stage. This study supports the significant difference between PMDD and non-PMDD on frontal alpha asymmetry, and frontal alpha asymmetry was related to negative affect and somatic depression, while participants with PMDD were in the depressive mood during the luteal phase.

Match between Cue and Memory Valence during Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in recalling specific autobiographical memories. The current study goal was to assess whether emotionally valenced cue words led to memories of similar emotional valence and whether this pattern differed between 12 unmedicated MDD and 14 healthy control participants. Both groups recalled autobiographical memories in response to positive, negative, and neutral cue words. Positive and neutral cues prompted recall of positive memories less often in the MDD group than in the controls. MDD participants recalled fewer specific and more categorical memories than controls; however, the proportion of specific memories didn't differ across memory valences. The MDD group had fewer specific memories in response to positive and neutral cues than the controls. These results suggest that the MDD participants may process positive stimuli differently than healthy controls and that their recall of specific autobiographical memories is impaired, regardless of the affective valence of those memories.

Association between subcortical volumes and verbal memory in unmedicated depressed patients and healthy controls

Research has shown poor performance on verbal memory tasks in patients with major depressive disorder relative to healthy controls, as well as structural abnormalities in the subcortical structures that form the limbic-cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuitry. Few studies, however, have attempted to link the impairments in learning and memory in depression with these structural abnormalities, and of those which have done so, most have included patients medicated with psychotropic agents likely to influence cognitive performance. This study thus examines the relationship between subcortical structural abnormalities and verbal memory using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) in unmedicated depressed patients. A T1 weighted magnetic resonance imaging scan and the CVLT were obtained on 45 subjects with major depressive disorder and 44 healthy controls. Using the FMRIB's Integrated Registration and Segmentation Tool (FIRST) volumes of selected subcortical structures were segmented and correlated with CVLT performance. Depressed participants showed significantly smaller right thalamus and right hippocampus volumes than healthy controls. Depressed participants also showed impaired performance on global verbal learning ability, and appeared to depend upon an inferior memory strategy (serial clustering). Measures of serial clustering were correlated significantly with right hippocampal volumes in depressed participants. Our findings indicate that depressed participants and healthy controls differ in the memory strategies they employ, and that while depressed participants had a smaller hippocampal volume, there was a positive correlation between volume and use of an inferior memory strategy. This suggests that larger hippocampal volume is related to better memory recall in depression, but specifically with regard to utilizing an inferior memory strategy.

Measuring consistency of autobiographical memory recall in depression

Autobiographical amnesia assessments in depression need to account for normal changes in consistency over time, contribution of mood and type of memories measured. We report herein validation studies of the Columbia Autobiographical Memory Interview — Short Form (CAMI-SF), exclusively used in depressed patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) but without previous published report of normative data. The CAMI-SF was administered twice with a 6-month interval to 44 healthy volunteers to obtain normative data for retrieval consistency of its Semantic, Episodic-Extended and Episodic-Specific components and assess their reliability and validity. Healthy volunteers showed significant large decreases in retrieval consistency on all components. The Semantic and Episodic-Specific components demonstrated substantial construct validity. We then assessed CAMI-SF retrieval consistencies over a 2-month interval in 30 severely depressed patients never treated with ECT compared with healthy controls (n=19). On initial assessment, depressed patients produced less episodic-specific memories than controls. Both groups showed equivalent amounts of consistency loss over a 2-month interval on all components. At reassessment, only patients with persisting depressive symptoms were distinguishable from controls on episodic-specific memories retrieved. Research quantifying retrograde amnesia following ECT for depression needs to control for normal loss in consistency over time and contribution of persisting depressive symptoms.

The relationship between plasma amyloid-β peptides and the medial temporal lobe in the homebound elderly

The ratio of high amyloid-β peptide40 (Aβ40) and low Aβ42 in plasma predicts the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is associated with episodic recall in depression. We thus examined the relationship between plasma Aβ levels and brain volumes. Homebound elders (N = 352) who had undergone brain MRI were used. Plasma Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 were measured by ELISA. Volumes of medial temporal regions, including the amygdala and hippocampus, were manually measured. Amygdala volume was associated with log(10) of plasma Aβ1-42 (β = +0.19, SE = 0.07, p = 0.005) after adjusting for AD, infarcts, white matter hyperintensities and demographics. In the absence of dementia, decreasing quartiles of plasma Aβ1-42 (Mean + SD ml: Q4 = 4.1 ± 0.8; Q3 = 3.9 ± 0.7; Q2 = 3.6 ± 0.8 and Q1 = 3.7 ± 0.8, p = 0.01) and increasing quartiles of plasma Aβ1-40/1-42 ratio were associated with smaller amygdala volume. Those depressed subjects with a high plasma Aβ1-40/1-42 ratio had smaller amygdala (Mean + SD ml: 3.3 ± 0.8 vs. 3.6 ± 0.8, p = 0.04) and total brain volume (Mean + SD liter: 0.95 ± 0.07 vs. 1.04 ± 0.12, p = 0.005), and had a higher rate of MCI (67 vs. 36%, p = 0.02) than those with a low plasma Aβ1-40/1-42 ratio. The combination of low plasma Aβ1-42 concentration and atrophy of the medial temporal lobe structures, which regulates mood and cognition, may represent a biomarker for a prodromal stage of AD.

The accuracy of symptom recall in eating disorders

The purpose of this study was to assess how accurately patients with eating disorders recall their symptoms after 6 to 12 months, to evaluate whether more recent symptoms are remembered more accurately, and to determine the extent to which the accuracy of recall impacts diagnostic classification. Seventy women who were enrolled in a longitudinal study of eating disorder symptoms were asked to recall their eating patterns, behaviors, and attitudes from 6 or 12 months earlier using semistructured interviews (Eating Disorders Examination and McKnight Longitudinal Follow-up Interview for Eating Disorders). Results indicated that correlations between the original and recalled data for frequency of objective binge eating episodes and vomiting ranged from r = .534 to .898 (average, r = .772), with lower correlations for subjective binge eating episodes (average, r = .335). Attitudes toward shape and weight were recalled more accurately at 6 months (average, r = .907) than 12 months (average, r = .620). κ Coefficients were higher for eating disorder diagnoses using broad than narrow definitions, with no differences between 6- and 12-month recall. Overall, agreement for depression recall was low but better at 6 months ( κ = .423) than 12 months ( κ = .296). These findings suggest that patients with eating disorders are at least moderately accurate when recalling most symptoms from 6 to 12 months earlier. Although broadly defined eating disorder diagnoses remained consistent, depression and narrower eating disorder diagnostic classifications showed more variability.

Encoding and output order processes in short-term order recall of distinctive items

Adults recalled the order of the letters in one of two four-letter segments following a distractor task. They knew in advance the identity of the letters in each segment. A letter was made distinctive by replacing it with a red dash. This unusual form of distinctiveness generally had negative effects on recall of both the segment containing the missing letter and the absent letter within the segment. Encoding and output processes were manipulated by varying precue information and recall order instructions, respectively. Informing participants in advance whether or not a trial would contain a distinctive (i.e., missing) letter depressed recall. Constraining output order eliminated the disadvantage for the absent letter. The results are discussed in terms of encoding and output order processes in short-term recall of order information.

Consistency of recall in depression and dementia

Consistency of recall in depression and dementia

Consistency of recall in depression and dementia

Consistency of recall in depression and dementia

Asymmetry of Recall in Depression

We compared the verbal (auditory/semantic) and nonverbal (visual/configurational) recall of carefully defined depressed patients with a demographically matched control group of normal volunteers. Whereas controls were split as to whether their nonverbal recall exceeded or was inferior to their verbal recall, 89% of depressed patients demonstrated an asymmetry characterized by poorer nonverbal than verbal recall. Depressive subgroups (determined by clinical and psychoendocrine criteria) differed from controls, but not from each other, in demonstrating this asymmetry of recall. In contrast, depressed patients did not individually demonstrate an asymmetry between verbal and nonverbal recognition that differed from controls.

Negative recall bias as a predictor of susceptibility to induced depressive mood

Two experiments examined recall of emotionally positive and negative nouns by subclinically depressed and non-depressed groups. Neither experiment found evidence that depression was associated with a bias towards better recall of negative material. The experiments also examined recall for positive and self-esteem threatening (SET) nouns. Both investigations found a bias favouring better recall of SET words than positive words in the depressed group, but no recall bias was found in the non-depressed group as a whole. However, some non-depressed participants showed the depressive recall bias and some did not. The former but not the latter were found to be susceptible to induced depressive mood. The results are interpreted in terms of a depressogenic schema centering on threat to self-esteem.

Picture versus question elaboration on young children's learning of sentences containing high- and low-probability content

The main purpose of the two experiments reported here was to compare the potency of two types of elaboration on children's learning of sentence content: The effects of partial picture adjuncts were compared to the effects produced by answering “why”-questions about the relationships specified in the sentences. Five- to seven-year-old children heard sentences of the form, subject/verb/direct object/preposition/instrument. Sentences contained either a high-probability or a low-probability instrument given the semantic context. In Experiment 1, sentences either were accompanied by a partial picture depicting the sentence action but omitting the instrument or were presented without a partial picture accompaniment. Recall was improved by provision of partial pictures at study. In Experiment 2, the sentences were accompanied by complete pictures depicting the sentence content. In both experiments, questioning significantly reduced recall of high-probability sentences, with recall of instruments affected especially negatively. Evidence is presented that insufficient attention to instruments may have been one mechanism mediating depressed recall of high- compared to low-probability instruments in the questioned conditions. In summary, partial pictures improved cued recall of sentences in this study; in contrast, all significant effects produced by answering why-questions were negative ones (i.e., later recall was reduced following interrogation at study).