In this small grant application, a study is proposed to clarify the nature of memory functioning in depressed individuals. The long- term objective is to provide information to clinicians that will aid in the differential diagnosis of depressin and dementia and in treatment planning. The primary aim is to use a new and cost- effective method to test the hypothesis that depression is associated with impairments in memory. A new method is needed, because methods previously used have yielded inconsistent results. That is, the results of many studies supported the hypothesis that depression is associated with memory impairment, and the results of others did not.
The second aim i s to test the hypothesis that moderator variables determine the extent to which depression is associated with memory impairment. Identified moderator variables include subject characteristics such as age, severity of depression, and patient status; and memory task characteristics such as the length of the retention interval and the amount of effort required to retain information. The new method is meta-analysis, a statistical technique widely used for combining data from existing studies. Meta-analyses that combines results across studies will be used to test the first hypothesis. Combination analyses will produce a combined signficiance level and a combined effect size. Meta-analyses that compare results across studies will be used to test the second hypothesis. Planned contrast and linear trend analyses will indicate whether significance levels or effect sizes are affected by the moderator variables.
| Burt, D B; Zembar, M J; Niederehe, G (1995) Depression and memory impairment: a meta-analysis of the association, its pattern, and specificity. Psychol Bull 117:285-305 |
