Impairment of working memory in patients with depressive disorder / 预防医学

Objective@#To analyze the working memory impairment in patients with different degrees of depressive disorder and its influencing factors, so as to provide the basis for the clinical evaluation of cognitive function in patients with depressive disorder. @*Methods@#From January 2019 to November 2020, the patients with depressive disorder were selected in the psychiatry and clinical psychology departments of a tertiary hospital. Demographic information, disease course and medication were collected. Depression subscale ( DEP ) of Mental Health Inventory ( PHI ) was used to measure the degree of depressive disorder. N-back tasks were used to test working memory, with error rate and reaction time as experimental variables to compare the working memory impairment of patients with different degrees of depressive disorder. The multivariate linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for working memory impairment in patients with depressive disorder.@*Results@#A total of 75 patients with depressive disorder were included, including 45 mild cases and 30 moderate and severe cases. The error rates of mild cases and moderate and severe cases in the 3-back task were ( 27.47±20.59 )% and ( 39.60±25.95 )%, the response time between the two groups in 0-back, 1-back, 2-back and 3-back task were ( 458.29±104.19 ) ms and ( 527.90±99.58 )ms,( 499.87±85.46 ) ms and ( 574.57±126.25 ) ms, ( 567.44±114.86 ) ms and ( 675.37±137.54 ) ms, ( 663.76±167.99 ) ms and ( 753.27±152.06 ) ms, the differences between two groups were significant ( P<0.05 ). The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the severity of depressive disorder was correlated with the response time of 0-back to 3-back tasks and the error rate of 3-back task; whether patients took medicine or not was depressive disorder correlated with the 0-back task response time ( all P<0.05 ). @*Conclusion@#There are differences in working memory impairment among patients with different degrees of depressive disorder and the severity of impairment is correlated with the severity of depressive disorder and the use of antidepressant drugs.

Effect of electronic moxibustion on memory function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electronic moxibustion on memory function in the patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).@*METHODS@#A total of 59 aMCI patients were randomized into an electronic moxibustion group (30 cases) and a placebo moxibustion group (29 cases). In the electronic moxibustion group, the electronic moxibustion was applied to Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Mingmen (GV 4) and Taixi (KI 3), 45 ℃ in temperature, 20 min each time. The treatment was given once a day, 5 times a week. The treatment for 4 weeks was as one course and 2 courses were required totally. In the placebo moxibustion group, the moxa-free patch was used, 38 ℃ in temperature. The acupoint selection and the treatment frequency were same as the electronic moxibustion group. Before and after treatment, Rivermead behavior memory test (RBMT) was adopted to evaluate the global memory function of the patients in the two groups and the N-back task test was adopted to evaluate working memory function separately. Additionally, the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and its immediate memory, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and its delay recall were adopted to evaluate the global cognitive function and memory function@*RESULTS@#In the electronic moxibustion group, after treatment, RBMT score, N-back accuracy rates, MMSE and MoCA scores and the scores of immediate memory and delay recall were improved significantly as compared with those before treatment (<0.01). In the placebo moxibustion group, the accuracy rates of 1-back and 2-back task and the scores of immediate memory and delay recall were improved obviously as compared with those before treatment (<0.05, <0.01). After treatment, the improvements of RBMT score, the accuracy rates of N-back task and MMSE and MoCA scores in the electronic moxibustion group were higher than those in the placebo moxibustion group (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Electronic moxibustion improves memory function in the patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Effect of working memory load on tactile n-back task / Efeito da carga de memória operacional na tarefa n-back tátil / Efecto de la carga de memoria de trabajo en la tarea táctil n-back

The present study investigated the characteristics of tactile working memory using the N-Back Task. The participants (n = 16), all sighted, performed the task with working memory loads equivalent to maintaining one, two, or three letters in the working memory (N-Back 1, N-Back 2, and N-Back 3). The frequency of commission and omission errors was analyzed as a function of memory load. The results indicate an increase in the frequency of omission errors due to this factor. The working memory load did not significantly influence commission errors. In general, our results suggest that the tactile N-Back task may represent a promising method for the assessment of working memory in blind and sighted participants.

O presente estudo investigou as características da memória de trabalho tátil por meio da Tarefa N-Back. Os participantes (n = 16), todos videntes, executaram a tarefa com cargas mnemônicas equivalentes a manutenção de uma, dois ou três letras na memória de trabalho (N-Back 1, N-Back 2 e N-Back 3). Foram analisadas a frequência de erros de comissão e a omissão em função da carga mnemônica. Os resultados apontam um aumento na frequência dos erros de omissão em função desse fator. As comissões não foram influenciadas significativamente pela carga da memória de trabalho. Em linhas gerais, nossos resultados sugerem que a tarefa N-Back tátil pode representar um método promissor para a avaliação da memória de trabalho em participantes videntes e não videntes.

El presente estudio investigó las características de la memoria táctil de trabajo utilizando la Tarea N-Back. Los participantes (n = 16), todos videntes, realizaron la tarea con cargas equivalentes a una, dos o tres letras en la memoria de trabajo (N-Back 1, N-Back 2 y N-Back 3). Los errores de comisión y omisión se analizó de acuerdo con la carga de trabajo. Los resultados indican un aumento en la frecuencia de errores de omisión debido a este factor. Las comisiones no fueron influenciadas significativamente por la carga de memoria de trabajo. En general, nuestros resultados sugieren que la tarea N-Back táctil puede representar un método prometedor para la evaluación de la memoria de trabajo en participantes videntes y no videntes.

A study on correlation between verbal memory and working memory in patients with alcohol dependence / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the correlation between verbal memory and working memory in patients with alcohol dependence (AD).Methods A total of 40 patients with AD and 40 health controls were included in this study.N-back task was used to evaluate the verbal working memory.20 sets of phrases were used to evaluate long-term verbal memory.Results Correct number of verbal memory in AD group ((5.15±0.92)times) was lower than that of HC group ((7.35±3.07) times) after one-week baseline test,and the difference was statistically significant (t=4.344,P＜ 0.01).Compared with HC group ((1 436.37±192.50) ms,(1.08±0.89) times,(4.00±0.85) times,respectively),AD group((1 535.40± 192.50) ms,(1.90± 1.57)times,(2.60± 1.39)times) showed significantly impaired reply reaction time of 2-back,error number of 1-back and 2-back (t=-2.112,P=0.038;t=-2.899,P=0.005;t=-5.433,P＜0.01).The error number of 2-back task in AD group was negative correlated with verbal memory after one-week baseline test (r=-0.427,P=0.006).Conclusion The verbal memory is impaired in AD patients.Long-term verbal memory damage have a certain correlation with working memory.

Tarefa N-back auditiva: desempenho entre diferentes grupos etários / Auditory N-back task: different age groups performance

Um dos instrumentos mais utilizados internacionalmente para avaliação da Memória de Trabalho (MT) é a Tarefa N-back Auditiva. Recursos para avaliação desse sistema são escassos no Brasil. O presente estudo objetiva observar o desempenho da Tarefa N-back Auditiva em indivíduos de diferentes faixas etárias: 27 crianças, 22 pré-adolescentes, 26 adultos e 27 idosos. Os resultados mostram que o grupo etário influencia no desempenho da Tarefa N-back Auditiva. A acurácia foi aumentando na transição da infância para a pré-adolescência e seguiu em crescimento até a adultez. Observou-se um declínio no desempenho de idosos. Os dados da Tarefa N-back Auditiva corrobora a trajetória desenvolvimental, sugerindo que essa tarefa possa ser utilizada no contexto experimental. Pesquisas de normatização contribuirão para melhor compreensão dessa tarefa.

One of the most internationally used instruments for evaluation of Working Memory (WM) is the Auditory N-Back Task. In Brazil, resources to evaluate this system are scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate the performance of different age subjects in auditory n-back tasks. We divided the 102 subjects in four groups: 27 children, 22 adolescents, 26 young adults and 27 older adults. The results demonstrate an age-related difference in the n-back task performance. The accuracy increased in the transition from childhood to adolescence and kept growing from adolescence to adulthood. We also found a decrease in the performance of aged subjects. The Auditory N-Back Task results are in agreement with WM development trajectory, and so, it demonstrates to be an adjusted instrument to evaluate this system in experimental setting.