Executive dysfunction in remitted late-life depression: Juntendo University Mood Disorder Projects (JUMP)

Abstract

The authors aimed to investigate whether remitted adult and elderly major depressive disorder patients show different patterns of executive dysfunction. Executive functions of 20 euthymic major depressive disorder patients and 29 healthy comparison subjects were evaluated using the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome. Relative to adult patients and healthy comparison subjects, euthymic elderly patients were more impaired in the subtest of Modified Six Elements. Since the regions most implicated in this subtest are the medial prefrontal, the anterior cingulate, and the dorsolateral prefrontal areas, the authors conclude that dysfunctions of such frontal neural networks remain unresolved even in the remission phase of late-life depression.