title: Memory and executive functions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated whether patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder have poorer memory and executive functions than healthy controls.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The relatively inconsistent previous findings on this question reflect a lack of well-matched control groups, the inclusion of patients with comorbidity, and the use of noncomparable neuropsychological tests to assess memory and executive functions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used well-accepted neuropsychological tests of memory and executive functions to assess 42 patients who had obsessive-compulsive disorder without comorbidity, and 42 healthy controls. We matched the patients and controls pairwise by sex, age, and years of education.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients performed significantly worse than the controls on the Rey Complex Figure Test, which assesses visuospatial memory and organizational skills. This group difference remained after we controlled for age, education, intelligence, and severity of depressive symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder may have impaired visuospatial memory and organizational skills, and these impairments should be considered in treatment.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00792038.
authors.affiliation: *Clinic for OCD and Anxiety Disorders †Center for Psychiatric Research §Regional Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University Hospital Risskov, Risskov, Denmark ‡Vejlefjord Rehabilitation, Stouby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Sanne Kjær
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Vandborg
authors.forename: Tue Borst
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Birgit Egedal
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Bennedsen
authors.forename: Anders Degn
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Per Hove
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Thomsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression; D004522:Educational Status; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index