The relationship between cognitive functioning and psychopathology in patients with psychiatric disorders: a transdiagnostic network analysis.

Introduction: Patients with psychiatric disorders often experience cognitive dysfunction, but the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and psychopathology remains unclear, partly due to research being conducted within specific psychiatric disorders. Current psychiatric diagnoses are not true representations of underlying disorders; therefore, a transdiagnostic approach may be useful for further elucidating the relationship between cognition and psychopathology. Objectives: The aim was to investigate the relationships between domains of cognitive functioning and psychopathology in a transdiagnostic sample using a data-driven approach. Methods: Network analyses using baseline data from 1016 patients with various psychiatric disorders were conducted to investigate the relationships between symptoms and cognitive domains, detect clusters, and assess the predictability of nodes in the network. Psychopathology symptoms were assessed using various standard questionnaires. Cognitive domains were assessed with a battery of automated tests. Results: Network analysis detected five clusters that we labelled as: general psychopathology, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, trauma symptoms, substance use, and cognition. Variables with the highest strength were depressed mood, anxiety, verbal memory, working memory, and hyperarousal. Most associations between cognition and symptoms were negative, i.e., increased symptom severity/frequency was associated with worse cognitive functioning. Conclusions: Cognition and psychopathology interact in ways that do not adhere to traditional diagnostic boundaries. Depressed mood, anxiety, verbal and working memory deficits and hyperarousal are especially relevant in this network and can be considered transdiagnostic targets for research and treatment. Moreover, future research on cognitive functioning should focus on symptom-specific interactions with cognitive domains rather than investigating cognitive functioning in diagnostic categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]