Impairment of Working Memory during a Depression of the Elderly:
A Systematic Review
Keywords:
Working memory, Short-term memoroy, Geriatric depressiona, Cognition, Elderly, NeuropsychologyAbstract
Geriatric depression is related with cognitive impairments, but how this is connected to specific Working Memory deficits is still unknown. Hence, the aim of this study is to systematically review the literature about the associations between Working Memory impairments and major depression in the elderly. Thus we performed a systematic review, considering published articles in major international databases between 2000 and 2011. After exclusion criteria, 17 articles were fully reviewed. There is evidence that there is indeed an association between depression in elderly and Working Memory impairments. In addition, some articles found that such deficits are sustained even after mood symptoms remission.
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