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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Beth LittleORCiD, Dr Peter GallagherORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Cognitive impairment affects approximately 50% of patients with mood disordersduring remission, which correlates with poorer daily-life functioning. The hierarchicalorganisation of cognitive processes may mean that some cognitive deficits, e.g.,memory impairments, are secondary to impairments in suggested core processes,including executive functions, working memory, attention, and psychomotor speed. Theexact structure of a cognitive hierarchy in mood disorders is unclear. In this study, weaimed to examine relationships between cognitive domains using network graphs.Further, we aimed to explore whether impairments in the proposed ‘core cognitivedomains’ mediated patients’ verbal memory impairment and functional disability usingmediation and hierarchical regression analyses. We pooled data from patients withmood disorders and healthy controls (HC) from 10 original studies. In total, 1505participants were included in the analyses (n=900 patients; n=605 HC). We found thatcognitive domains were more intercorrelated in patients than in HC. Executivefunctions, working memory, and attention and psychomotor speed almost fullyaccounted for illness-associated verbal learning and memory impairments, indicatingpartial mediation. Of the core domains, working memory explained the largest amountof variance in memory impairments and functional disability. Our findings highlight theimportance of targeting core cognitive domains in pro-cognitive interventions.
Author(s): Schandorff JM, Damgaard V, Little B, Lie Kjærstad H, Zarp J, Bjertrup AJ, Vedel Kessing L, Knorre U, Vinberg M, Gallagher P, Miskowiaka KW
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Affective Disorders
Year: 2025
Volume: 375
Pages: 239-248
Print publication date: 15/04/2026
Online publication date: 28/01/2025
Acceptance date: 27/01/2025
Date deposited: 28/01/2025
ISSN (print): 0165-0327
ISSN (electronic): 1573-2517
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.143
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.143
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/k5zz-mq23
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