Memory complaint and performance in normal and depressed older adults.

The present study investigated the influence of depression on memory complaints and performance in a sample of community dwelling older adults (N = 41). Complaints were significantly more frequent in the clinically depressed subsample. However, their actual performance on tests of immediate and delayed recall did not differ significantly from the performance of nondepressed older adults. In addition, results indicated that depressives who responded favorably to a program of psychotherapy demonstrated significant reductions in levels of memory complaints at post-treatment assessment. Implications of these data for further research are discussed.