title: The relation between depressive symptoms and semantic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and in late-life depression.
abstract: Semantic deficits have been documented in the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease, but it is unclear whether these deficits are associated with non-cognitive manifestations. For instance, recent evidence indicates that cognitive deficits in elders with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are modulated by concomitant depressive symptoms. The purposes of this study were to (i) investigate if semantic memory impairment in aMCI is modulated according to the presence (aMCI-D group) or absence (aMCI group) of depressive symptoms, and (ii) compare semantic memory performance of aMCI and aMCI-D groups to that of patients with late-life depression (LLD). Seventeen aMCI, 16 aMCI-D, 15 LLD, and 26 healthy control participants were administered a semantic questionnaire assessing famous person knowledge. Results showed that performance of aMCI-D patients was impaired compared to the control and LLD groups. However, in the aMCI group performance was comparable to that of all other groups. Overall, these findings suggest that semantic deficits in aMCI are somewhat associated with the presence of concomitant depressive symptoms. However, depression alone cannot account solely for the semantic deficits since LLD patients showed no semantic memory impairment in this study. Future studies should aim at clarifying the association between depression and semantic deficits in older adults meeting aMCI criteria. (JINS, 2011, 17, 865-874).
authors: Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Brunet
authors: Carol
authors: C
authors: Hudon
authors: Joël
authors: J
authors: Macoir
authors: Sylvie
authors: S
authors: Belleville
authors: François
authors: F
authors: Rousseau
authors: Rémi W
authors: RW
authors: Bouchard
authors: Louis
authors: L
authors: Verret
authors: Howard
authors: H
authors: Chertkow
authors: Céline
authors: C
authors: Chayer
authors: Marie-Jeanne
authors: MJ
authors: Kergoat
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Joubert
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000647:Amnesia / Q000209:etiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic