Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory and depression: the role of executive control.
It has been widely established that depressed mood states and clinical depression, as well as a range of other psychiatric disorders, are associated with a relative difficulty in accessing specific autobiographical information in response to emotion-related cue words on an Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; J. M. G. Williams & K. Broadbent, 1986). In 8 studies the authors examined the extent to which this relationship is a function of impaired executive control associated with these mood states and clinical disorders. Studies 1-4 demonstrated that performance on the AMT is associated with performance on measures of executive control, independent of depressed mood. Furthermore, Study 1 showed that executive control (as measured by verbal fluency) mediated the relationship between both depressed mood and a clinical diagnosis of eating disorder and AMT performance. Using a stratified sample in Study 5, the authors confirmed the positive association between depressed mood and impaired performance on the AMT. Studies 6-8 involved experimental manipulations of the parameters of the AMT designed to further indicate that reduced executive control is to a significant extent driving the relationship between depressed mood and AMT performance. The potential role of executive control in accounting for other aspects of the AMT literature is discussed.
Dalgleish
Tim
T
Emotion Research Group, Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, England. tim.dalgleish@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Williams
J Mark G
JM
Golden
Ann-Marie J
AM
Perkins
Nicola
N
Barrett
Lisa Feldman
LF
Barnard
Phillip J
PJ
Yeung
Cecilia Au
CA
Murphy
Victoria
V
Elward
Rachael
R
Tchanturia
Kate
K
Watkins
Edward
E
D000328:Adult; D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003463:Cues; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index