1. Neuropsychological functions in anxiety disorders in population-based samples: evidence of episodic memory dysfunction
- Author
-
Maria Larsson, Eija Airaksinen, and Yvonne Forsell
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Population ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Specific phobia ,Task Performance and Analysis ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,Speech ,Verbal fluency test ,education ,Psychiatry ,Episodic memory ,Biological Psychiatry ,Memory Disorders ,education.field_of_study ,Panic disorder ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Anxiety Disorders ,humanities ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Motor Skills ,Case-Control Studies ,Anxiety ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,Psychology ,Anxiety disorder ,Agoraphobia - Abstract
Most of the available evidence on neuropsychological functioning in anxiety disorders is based on clinical samples, investigating persons affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder. Knowledge is sparse regarding cognitive functions in other types of anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether persons diagnosed with an anxiety disorder show neuropsychological impairments relative to healthy controls in tasks tapping episodic memory, verbal fluency, psychomotor speed, and executive functioning. Population-based samples comprising individuals affected by panic disorder with and without agoraphobia or agoraphobia (n=33), social phobia (n=32), generalised anxiety disorder (n=7), obsessive-compulsive disorder (n=16), and specific phobia (n=24) were compared with healthy controls (n=175) in test performance. Overall, the total anxiety disorder group exhibited significant impairments in episodic memory and executive functioning. Separate analyses on the respective anxiety subgroup indicated that panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder were related to impairments in both episodic memory and executive functioning. In addition, social phobia was associated with episodic memory dysfunction. Verbal fluency and psychomotor speed were not affected by anxiety. Specific phobia and generalised anxiety disorder did not affect neuropsychological functioning.
- Published
- 2005