The association of visuospatial working memory with dysthymic disorder in pre-pubertal children.
BACKGROUND
Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) deficits have not been investigated specifically in children with dysthymic disorder (DD), although they are associated with impairments in attention that commonly occur in DD. This study investigates VSWM impairment in children with DD.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study of VSWM in 6- to 12-year-old children with medication-naive DD (n=26) compared to an age-, gender- and 'performance IQ' (PIQ)-matched healthy control group (n=28) was completed.


RESULTS
The DD group demonstrated impairment in VSWM, including impairment in the spatial span and strategy components of VSWM. Furthermore, the VSWM impairment remained after controlling for spatial span. Inattentive symptoms were significantly associated with the VSWM impairment.


CONCLUSIONS
This study of children with DD found deficits in performance on VSWM tasks, suggesting that fronto-striatal-parietal neural networks that underlie processes of attention and the executive component of VSWM are dysfunctional in children with DD. These findings further our understanding of DD and suggest more specific interventions that might improve functioning.
Franklin
T
T
Academic Child Psychiatry Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne and Royal Children's Hospital and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Victoria, Australia.
Lee
A
A
Hall
N
N
Hetrick
S
S
Ong
J
J
Haslam
N
N
Karsz
F
F
Vance
A
A
D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*