The Significance of Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Depression

Impairments in the domains of executive functions, attention and memory are among the most common and persistent symptoms of depressive disorders. A definite profile of these impairments has yet not been identified possibly due to the fact that cognitive performance is influenced by several clinical and demographic factors, e.g. depression subtype, rumination, comorbidity and age. Impairments improve with remission but do often not reverse completely. They have an important clinical impact and are positively related to suicidality, poor treatment response, and reduced everyday functioning. Therefore, effective treatment is needed. First results raise hope that cognitive impairment in depression is successfully treatable with neuropsychological therapy, training of mindfulness, specific antidepressants, and new neurobiological treatments such as repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation.