Psychomotor retardation in subtypes of depression

Contains fulltext : 56959.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)0ntbrkt;RU Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 15 februari 2006Promotores : Hulstijn, W., Sabbe, B.G.C.142 p

Psychomotorische vertraging bij depressie, gemeten met visuomotorische taken

Contains fulltext : 56630.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)12 p

No psychomotor slowing in fine motor tasks in dysthymia

Contains fulltext : 64672.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Introduction Few studies using objective and sensitive measuring techniques have investigated whether psychomotor retardation (PR), an important symptom of a major depressive disorder (MDD), is also present in dysthymic patients. In this study, the following questions were addressed: (1) is PR also prevalent in dysthymia? (2) If so, is the PR cognitive or motor in nature? And (3) does the nature and degree of the PR in patients with dysthymia differ from the PR in MDD patients found in earlier studies? Methods PR was measured by comparing the, digitally recorded, fine motor performance of 20 unmedicated dysthymic inpatients (mean age: 33) and 32 controls on copying and drawing tasks. In addition, the performance of the dysthymic patients was compared to the performance results of 32 unmedicated MDD inpatients collected in an earlier study. Results The dysthymic patients were not slower than the controls in performing the fine motor tasks: neither initiation time (IT) nor movement time (MT) were prolonged. As expected, the MDD patients did show significantly longer ITs and MTs in all tasks compared to the controls. On the clinical Salpêtrière Retardation Rating Scale (SRRS), the dysthymic patients had high scores on mainly subjective cognitive items like concentration and memory complaints. Limitations The dysthymic patients had significantly less severe forms of depression compared to the MDD patients. As dysthymia, by definition, is a less severe form of depression we could not examine whether PR would manifest itself in severely depressed dysthymic patients, as is the case in certain MDD patients. Conclusion In this study, no objective evidence was found for PR in dysthymic patients during fine motor tasks. PR may be used to differentiate between dysthymia and MDD

Psychomotor retardation in elderly depressed patients

Contains fulltext : 64360.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Background: The results of previous studies on psychomotor retardation (PR) in elderly depressed patients are inconsistent. The purpose of this study was (1) to try and establish whether elderly depressed patients show PR, and (2) if so, which process (cognitive/motor or both) is mainly slowed? Methods: Twelve elderly depressed patients and healthy controls (age: 70) were compared on figure copying tasks in which the cognitive task difficulty was manipulated. Results: Both initiation time (IT) and movement time (MT) were prolonged in the patient group. The effects of the cognitive manipulations were not larger in the patient group. Limitations: The sample size was small. Furthermore, patients were not medication free. Conclusions: A cognitive and a more pronounced motor retardation was found. Clinicians should be aware of this at least additive effect of aging and depression on PR in elderly patients

Differential patterns of psychomotor functioning in unmedicated melancholic and nonmelancholic depressed patients

Contains fulltext : 64178.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Few studies examining psychomotor retardation (PR) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) included medication-free patients. The purpose of this study was (1) to examine whether unmedicated patients with MDD would exhibit PR, (2) to determine whether this retardation, if present, was more cognitive or motor in nature, and (3) to investigate whether any differences in PR could be established between melancholic and nonmelancholic depressed patients. Thirty-eight unmedicated inpatients with severe MDD (20 melancholic and 18 nonmelancholic patients) and 38 matched controls were compared on figure-copying tasks in which the cognitive task difficulty was manipulated. In addition, a simple motor task and the symbol digit substitution task (SDST) were administered. As a group, the patients were significantly slower performing all tasks and both initiation times (IT) and movement times (MT) were prolonged. However, when a distinction was made between the two subtypes, only the melancholic patients showed prolonged MTs compared to the controls. Furthermore, the melancholic patients differed significantly from the controls in IT in all tasks. The nonmelancholic patients had significantly longer ITs than the controls in two copying tasks. It can be concluded that there was clear cognitive and motor slowing in this group of unmedicated inpatients with MDD. The melancholic patients were more severely affected than the nonmelancholic patients and showed a slowing of cognitive as well as motor processes. Differences in psychomotor functioning between melancholic and nonmelancholic depressed patients could imply different underlying neurobiological disturbances in these subtypes of major depression

Psychomotor slowing, neuroendocrine responses, and behavioral changes after oral administration of meta-chlorophenylpiperazine in normal volunteers

Item does not contain fulltextThe mixed 5-HT receptor agonist/antagonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) is known to suppress locomotor activity in mice and rats. This study aimed: (1) to determine whether mCPP induces cognitive and motor changes in normal human volunteers and how these changes relate to the neuroendocrine effects of mCPP; and (2) to compare these cognitive and motor changes to the known cognitive and motor slowing patterns in depression and schizophrenia. A computerized method (used in previous research) analyzed fine motor behavior during figure-copying tasks. In 14 normal male volunteers behavioral responses, body temperature, plasma levels of prolactin and cortisol, and cognitive and motor performance during figure-copying tasks were measured after a single oral dose of mCPP (0.5 mg/kg). mCPP-induced prolongation of the reaction times in all copying tasks, parallel to increases in cortisol and prolactin and some self-reported behavioral effects. There were no changes in the movement times or the velocities of the writing movements. In conclusion, mCPP induced cognitive, but not motor slowing, in normal male volunteers. This indicates that the human serotonin system is also implicated in psychomotor behavior. This pattern of slowing was different from that in depressed and schizophrenic patients

Psychomotor, neuroendocrine and behavioural effects after oral administration of levodopa in normal volunteers

Contains fulltext : 64424.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)The oral administration of a single dose of levodopa ( -dopa) in 10 healthy human male subjects induced cognitive, not motor, changes during figure-copying tasks that were unrelated to the neuroendocrine and behavioural effects of levodopa. Results point to a decrease in alertness induced by levodopa