title: Obsessed not to forget: lack of retrieval-induced suppression effect in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of executive functions in resolving memory interference in a clinical sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Retrieval of memories has been shown to involve some form of executive act that diminishes the accessibility of rival memory traces, leading to retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). These executive control processes might suppress unwanted thoughts and irrelevant memories during competitive retrieval. We assessed RIF with the retrieval practice paradigm among 25 OCD patients and 25 healthy controls matched for age and education. Retrieval of target memories led to enhancement of target memory recall in both groups, but suppression of related memories (RIF) occurred only among controls. Our results suggest that suppression of irrelevant, interfering memories during competitive recall is impaired in OCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: gdemeter@cogsci.bme.hu.
authors.forename: Gyula
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Demeter
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keresztes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nyírő Gyula Hospital, National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harsányi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nyírő Gyula Hospital, National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Csigó
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Mihály
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Racsmány
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D013850:Thinking
keywords: Cognitive control; Executive function; Inhibition; Interference; Memory; OCD; Retrieval-induced forgetting