title: Does "thinking about thinking" interfere with memory? An experimental memory study in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Neuropsychological assessments of participants with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) indicate impaired verbal memory if to be remembered material has to be organized. People with OCD also tend to focus their attention on their thoughts (heightened cognitive self-consciousness). We tested the hypothesis that cognitive self-consciousness causes verbal memory deficits by provoking a division of attention between study task and thoughts. Thirty-six participants with OCD, 36 matched healthy controls and 36 participants with major depressive disorder (MDD) learned under proactive interference in three study conditions: single-task condition, condition with heightened cognitive self-consciousness and condition with an external secondary task. Memory was impaired in the cognitive self-consciousness condition compared to both other conditions. Independent of condition, participants with OCD showed a reduced memory performance compared to healthy controls, but did not differ from participants with MDD. Our results are in line with the hypothesis that cognitive self-consciousness causes memory impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, D-04081 Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: fweber@uni-leipzig.de.
authors.forename: Friederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Psychosomatic Clinic, Schützenstraße 100, 86949 Windach, Germany.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hauke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stengler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Hubertus
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Himmerich
authors.affiliation: Psychosomatic Clinic, Schützenstraße 100, 86949 Windach, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zaudig
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, D-04081 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Exner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003243:Consciousness; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D013850:Thinking
keywords: Cognitive self-consciousness; Obsessive–compulsive disorder; Proactive interference; Verbal memory