Autobiographical Memory in Depression: State or Trait Marker?

Brittlebank, Andrew; Scott, Jan; Mark, Joshua; Williams, Gordon H.; Ferrier, I. Nicol

doi:10.1192/bjp.162.1.118

Cited by 405 publications

(426 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The data replicate earlier reports that a higher level of memory specificity at admission predicts less depression at 7-month follow-up, even when initial depression levels were partialed (Brittlebank et al, 1993;Dalgleish et al, 2001;Peeters et al, 2002). In the present study, it was specificity to negative cues that was related to depression outcome, replicating Peeters et al (2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…About 29% of the first responses were OGMs, which is comparable to Brewin et al (1999), but lower than the percentage reported by Brittlebank et al (1993;54%). Information on the stability of scores is provided in Table 2.…”

Section: Amt Performance and Its Stabilitycontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…Past research has shown that this lack of AM specificity or overgeneral memory (OGM) does not disappear once the depression remits, with level of AM specificity remaining stable over time even when the severity of depressive symptoms declines (e.g. Brittlebank, Scott, Williams, & Ferrier, 1993).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and rumination in predicting the course of depression.

Raes

Hermans

Williams

et al. 2006

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

189

110

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Reduced autobiographical memory (AM) specificity is a known vulnerability factor for depression. AM specificity was investigated as a predictor of depression with the Autobiographical Memory Test (J. M. G. Williams & K. Broadbent, 1986). When baseline depression scores were partialed, reduced AM specificity to negative cue words predicted higher levels of depression at 7-month follow-up. Once rumination was taken into account by means of the Rumination on Sadness Scale (M. Conway, P. A. R. Csank, S. L. Holm, & C. K. Blake, 2000), AM specificity no longer predicted depression, suggesting that the predictive value of AM specificity observed in previous studies might be-at least partly-explained as an effect of rumination. Further mediation analyses indeed revealed support for rumination as a mediator of the relation between reduced AM specificity and poor outcome of depression.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Amt Performance and Its Stabilitycontrasting

confidence: 52%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and rumination in predicting the course of depression.

Raes

Hermans

Williams

et al. 2006

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

189

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Brittlebank and colleagues found that OGM in a sample of 22 depressed patients predicted the persistence of depression at 7-month follow-up (Brittlebank, Scott, Williams, & Ferrier, 1993). Similar findings were obtained by Peeters et al (2002) and by Raes et al (2006).…”

Section: Overgeneral Autobiographical Memorysupporting

confidence: 53%

“…The same number of cues was used in a previous study of people with persecutory delusions (Kaney et al, 1999), and a higher number of words increases the probability that parametric analyses may be used. Cue words for the present study were selected from a pool used by Brittlebank et al (1993), with the four sets of six words approximately matched according to emotionality ratings and Kucera-Francis frequency (Kucera & Francis, 1967). Negative and positive words were alternated with negative first, in order to end the procedure with a positive memory.…”

Section: Verbal Cognitive Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive factors maintaining persecutory delusions in psychosis: The contribution of depression.

Vorontsova¹,

Garety²,

Freeman³

2013

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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Depression is common in people with schizophrenia, but how it might directly contribute to the persistence of psychotic symptoms has rarely been tested. The key aim of the present study was to test whether depression and associated cognitive processes predict the maintenance of persecutory delusions. Three groups of participants were tested at baseline: 60 patients with persecutory delusions in the context of a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis, 30 patients with depression, and 30 nonclinical controls. They completed interviewer and self-report assessments of depression and paranoia, and measures of six cognitive factors (schematic beliefs, experiential avoidance, autobiographical memory, problem solving, rumination, worry style). The patients with persecutory delusions were then assessed again, six months later. It was found that 50% of the patients with persecutory delusions met diagnostic criteria for major depression. Cognitive processes found to be associated with depression across the groups were negative schematic beliefs about the self, experiential avoidance and rumination, but not autobiographical memory or problem solving. The severity of initial depression in patients with persecutory delusions predicted the persistence of paranoia over six months. A number of cognitive factors also predicted the persistence of persecutory delusions, including negative schematic beliefs about the self, worry, and problem-solving difficulties. In conclusion, depression is common in patients with current persecutory delusions, and it shows similar cognitive features to major depressive disorder. The results of this study indicate that depression and related processes may contribute to the maintenance of paranoia. Trials are warranted of depression-related therapeutic techniques for people with persecutory delusions.

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Recall of Autobiographical Memories Following Odor vs Verbal Cues Among Adults With Major Depressive Disorder

Leiker,

Riley,

Barb

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in autobiographical memory (AM) recall, which is thought to stem from disruptions in effortful recall. Understanding whether these deficits are mitigated when recall is stimulated more directly, such as by odor cues, could inform therapeutic interventions for MDD.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether deficits in specific AM recall in MDD are mitigated when odor cues vs word cues are used to prompt memory.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study assessed recall of specific AMs in response to both odor cues and word cues (in a randomized, counterbalanced order) in a repeated measures design. Data were collected between September 2021 and November 2022. The study took place at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania and included adults with a primary diagnosis of MDD, according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Data were analyzed from January to June 2023.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome measure was the percentage of specific AMs recalled in response to odor-cued memories vs word-cued memories. Additional outcome measures included ratings of arousal, vividness, repetition, and recall response time for odor-cued memories vs word-cued memories.ResultsThirty-two adults (mean [SD] age, 30.0 [10.1] years; 26 [81.3%] female; 6 [18.8%] male) with a primary diagnosis of MDD completed the study. Participants recalled more specific AMs for odor cues than word cues (mean [SD], 68.4% [20.4%] vs 52.1% [23.3%]; Cohen d, 0.78; P &lt; .001). Additionally, odor-cued recall was rated more arousing (mean [SD], 3.0 [0.8] vs 2.6 [0.7]; Cohen d, 1.28; P &lt; .001) and vivid (mean [SD], 3.3 [0.7] vs 3.0 [0.7]; Cohen d, 0.67; P &lt; .001), and was slower than word-cued recall (mean [SD], 14.5 [3.6] vs 8.9 [3.4] seconds; Cohen d, 1.18; P &lt; .001). When compared with the population mean for word cues in healthy controls (80%), participants recalled fewer specific memories in response to words (Cohen d, 1.18; P &lt; .001), supporting the presence of overgenerality. Notably, the percentage of specific memories recalled in response to odor cues did not differ from the healthy control population mean (Cohen d, 0.26; P = .15).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study, adults with MDD recalled more specific AMs in response to odor cues compared with word cues. This study suggests that AM deficits may only be observed when verbal cues are used and provides a potential new method for increasing specific AM recall in patients with MDD.

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Autobiographical Memory in Depression: State or Trait Marker?

Cited by 405 publications

References 13 publications

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and rumination in predicting the course of depression.

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and rumination in predicting the course of depression.

Cognitive factors maintaining persecutory delusions in psychosis: The contribution of depression.

Recall of Autobiographical Memories Following Odor vs Verbal Cues Among Adults With Major Depressive Disorder

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