Beblo Thomas, Exner Cornelia
Klinik für Psychiatry und Psychotherapie Bethel, Ev. Krankenhaus Bielefeld.
Neuropsychiatr. 2010;24(4):234-42.
It has long been known that patients with depression show neuropsychological symptoms. A great number of studies aimed at an exact characterization of these symptoms. Scientifically, the knowledge about such a profile was thought to provide information about neurobiological dysfunctions. Clinically, this knowledge would be useful to differentiate depression from other psychiatric or neurological diseases. However, the neuropsychological profile of depression is still not well established. We discuss four perspectives that provide possible explanations for the current state of knowledge and may help to further develop our knowledge about neuropsychological dysfunctions in depression: first, because there is great variation in the aetiology and phenomenology of depression and even in different subtypes of affective disorders, unitary neuropsychological profiles can not be expected. Further research should focus on relevant factors that influence cognitive functioning of depressed patients. Second, neuropsychological tests administered should be specific for certain cognitive functions and, third, should provide emotionally relevant stimuli as well. Finally, future studies should systematically consider psychiatric control groups in addition to healthy participants. With the consideration of these factors, neuropsychological research in depression significantly contributes to our understanding and conceptualization of mental disorders.
长期以来，人们都知道抑郁症患者会出现神经心理学症状。大量研究旨在精确描述这些症状。从科学角度来看，关于这种症状特征的知识被认为能提供有关神经生物学功能障碍的信息。在临床上，这些知识有助于将抑郁症与其他精神或神经疾病区分开来。然而，抑郁症的神经心理学特征仍未完全确立。我们讨论了四个观点，它们为当前的知识状况提供了可能的解释，并可能有助于进一步拓展我们对抑郁症神经心理学功能障碍的认识：第一，由于抑郁症的病因学和现象学存在很大差异，甚至在情感障碍的不同亚型中也是如此，因此不能期望有统一的神经心理学特征。进一步的研究应关注影响抑郁症患者认知功能的相关因素。第二，所采用的神经心理学测试应针对特定的认知功能，第三，还应提供与情绪相关的刺激。最后，未来的研究除了健康参与者外，还应系统地纳入精神疾病对照组。考虑到这些因素，抑郁症的神经心理学研究对我们理解和概念化精神障碍有显著贡献。
