Brooks Brian L, Iverson Grant L, Sherman Elisabeth M S, Roberge Marie-Claude
Neurosciences, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3B 6A8.
Appl Neuropsychol. 2010 Jan;17(1):37-43. doi: 10.1080/09084280903526083.
Depression in children and adolescents can negatively impact cognitive functioning, social development, and academic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a computerized battery of neuropsychological tests could detect neurocognitive difficulties in children and adolescents with depression. Participants included 30 children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 17 years (M = 14.6, SD = 2.1) with a clinical diagnosis of depression. Healthy control participants were individually matched on age, education, sex, race, primary language, handedness, and self-reported computer familiarity. All participants completed the Central Nervous System Vital Signs computerized battery. This battery of seven tests yields 23 test scores and 5 domain scores (Memory, Psychomotor Speed, Reaction Time, Complex Attention, and Cognitive Flexibility). Children and adolescents with depression performed worse on the Memory (Cohen's d = .43) and Complex Attention domains (d = .58) than matched controls. On the individual test scores, children and adolescents with depression performed worse on delayed verbal memory (d = .63), delayed visual memory (d = .34), measures of reaction time (d = .34-.53), and accuracy/inhibition on complex attention tasks (d = .49-.65). When considering the five domain scores simultaneously, children and adolescents with depression were more likely to have two or more scores at or below the 5th percentile (p = .05). Children and adolescents with depression have problems with reduced processing speed, memory for verbal information, and executive functioning on this computerized battery of tests, which represents a feasible method for neuropsychological screening.
儿童和青少年的抑郁症会对认知功能、社交发展和学业成绩产生负面影响。本研究的目的是确定一套计算机化的神经心理测试能否检测出患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年的神经认知困难。参与者包括30名年龄在9至17岁之间（M = 14.6，SD = 2.1）且临床诊断为抑郁症的儿童和青少年。健康对照参与者在年龄、教育程度、性别、种族、主要语言、利手和自我报告的计算机熟悉程度方面进行了个体匹配。所有参与者都完成了中枢神经系统生命体征计算机化测试组。这套由七个测试组成的测试组产生23个测试分数和5个领域分数（记忆、心理运动速度、反应时间、复杂注意力和认知灵活性）。患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年在记忆（科恩d值 = 0.43）和复杂注意力领域（d值 = 0.58）的表现比匹配的对照组差。在个体测试分数方面，患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年在延迟言语记忆（d值 = 0.63）、延迟视觉记忆（d值 = 0.34）、反应时间测量（d值 = 0.34 - 0.53）以及复杂注意力任务的准确性/抑制方面（d值 = 0.49 - 0.65）表现更差。当同时考虑五个领域分数时，患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年更有可能有两个或更多分数处于或低于第5百分位数（p = 0.05）。患有抑郁症的儿童和青少年在这套计算机化测试组中存在处理速度降低、言语信息记忆和执行功能方面的问题，这代表了一种可行的神经心理筛查方法。
