Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder |
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| Authors: | Tricia Favre Graham Emslie Peter Stavinoha Beth Kennard Thomas Carmody |
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| Institution: | 1. Dallas Children's Advocacy Center , Dallas, Texas, USA;2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Research , University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center , Dallas, Texas, USA;3. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas , Texas, USA |
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| Abstract: | The present investigation examined neurocognitive functioning, focusing on executive functioning (EF), in 39 children and adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 24 healthy control subjects all ages 8 to 17 years. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition along with several measures of executive functioning including the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, Trail Making Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and the Stroop Color Word Test were administered. The neurocognitive profiles for the group of depressed children and adolescents were grossly intact as most scores on intellectual and EF measures fell within the average range and did not differ from the comparison group. Mental processing speed was decreased in the MDD versus normal control group and 27% of the depressed group performed below average on the Trail Making Test. This investigation provided a good base from which to compare future literature on EF in outpatients with early-onset MDD. |
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| Keywords: | Childhood depression Neuropsychology Executive functioning Major depressive disorder Neuropsychological impairment |
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