title: [Cognition in dysthymia].
abstract: Depression is named as one of the most prevalent Mental Health problem, affecting almost 10 % of the population. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) different subtypes are included. Dysthymic Disorder is characterized by a depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, as indicated either by subjective account or observation by others, for at least 2 years. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological profile of dysthymic disorder. Ninety three patients fulfilling criteria for dysthymia were examined on a variety of cognitive tasks, neurological exam and a semi-structured psychiatric interview. Forty one non-depressed individuals served as controls. Significant differences between groups were found in digit span; immediate and delayed recall of a story; and semantic and phonologic fluency. Logic memory was worse than serial learning task, and has a correlation with attention deficit and depressive features.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This results indicate that the neuropsychological performance of patients with dysthymic disorder exhibit impairments in attention and memory. Attentional deficits appear to be the key of cognitive deficits in dysthymia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigación de la Memoria A Zubizarreta, GCBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Ricardo F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Allegri
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: Cecilia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Loñ
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Villar
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lopez Amalfara
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butman
authors.forename: Fernando E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Taragano
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index