Depressive symptoms and inductive reasoning performance: Findings from the ACTIVE reasoning training intervention.

Abstract

Within the context of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, we examined the longitudinal association of baseline depressive symptoms on inductive reasoning performance over a ten-year period between the reasoning training and control conditions (N = 1,375). At baseline, 322 participants (23%) reported elevated depressive symptoms, defined by a score ≥ 9 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (12-item). Differences in baseline depressive status were not associated with immediate post-training gains or with subsequent annual change in reasoning performance, suggesting that the presence of elevated baseline depressive symptoms does not impact the ability to benefit from reasoning training.

Baseline predictors of cognitive change in the treatment of major depressive episode: systematic review

“…Two older adult studies were based on two different training groups from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly trial. 36 , 37 These used memory 36 and reasoning 37 training as treatment. The remaining older adult study was a 3-year, naturalistic follow-up study.…”

“…A significant association between elevated depressive symptoms, measured with the 12-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CESD-12), and change in recall and recognition memory was reported, indicating those with elevated depressive symptoms experienced a faster decline in memory. Parisi et al 37 examined participants from the reasoning training arm of the same study ( n = 322), at the 10-year follow-up. CESD-12 scores at baseline were not significantly associated with change in reasoning performance, which was the only domain assessed.…”

“…Screening for cognitive impairment was also variable, with some older adult studies using a minimum score on the MMSE as part of inclusion criteria 29 , 31 , 33 , 35 , 38 and others including a maximum score to rule out serious cognitive impairment. 36 , 37 The majority of the adult studies had no criteria for level of cognitive impairment outside of exclusion of intellectual disability or dementia, and just one had a maximum MMSE score for inclusion. 17 …”

“…This was partially mitigated by the separation of shorter studies (<6 months) and longer studies (≥6 months) in assessing the results. The length of the longer studies, for which follow-up went as long as 10 years, 37 is also of note, having the issue of more potential confounding variables. Participants may take medications or undergo other therapies during the study period, or have multiple episodes of depression.…”

Depression and Reasoning Ability in Adolescents: Examining the Moderating Role of Growth Mindset

“…However, some studies revealed that the effect of depression on reasoning ability may be conditional. Parisi et al (2014) found that depression did not significantly predicted reasoning ability for the elderly individuals, and the reason may be that there is a moderating variable between depression and reasoning ability ( Parisi et al, 2014 ). Most previous studies focused on the depression patients or the elderly, and few studies investigated the effect of depression on reasoning ability for adolescents.…”