Tackling Depression and Anxiety: A Working Memory Intervention

NCT02119923 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Anxiety and depression are both associated with impairments in executive functions, including working memory (WM) which is needed to maintain and manipulate goal-relevant information. Due to these WM impairments anxious and depressed individuals have difficulties inhibiting and shifting from irrelevant (negative) information and updating goal relevant information. This study explored whether training WM decreases these impairments and reduces clinical symptoms and rumination. Eighty-four individuals diagnosed with major depression and forty-nine individuals with an anxiety diagnosis executed WM or control tasks three times a week, during four weeks. Before, after training and at a two months follow-up measurement depression and anxiety symptoms, WM capacity and rumination behaviour were assessed. Training WM did only result in a reduction of anxiety symptoms in the depression group. These findings are inconsistent with promising results of individual studies showing training WM result in an enlarged WM capacity and a decrease of psychopathological symptoms. However, our results are in line with recent meta-analyses and reviews which show that WM training do not lead to generalized effects and therefore, doubt the clinical relevance of WM training programs.

Conditions

Major Depression; Anxiety Disorder

Keywords

Depression; Anxiety; Working memory; Rumination; Cognitive training; Executive functioning

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) score change between pre and post training and at follow-up measurement (2 months after post measurement)

  Depression is measured with the BDI-II

  Pre training (baseline), post training (4 weeks after baseline, training starts 1 day after baseline) and follow-up (2 months after post-test)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores change from pre to post training and to follow up measurement (2 months after post measurement)

  Pre training (baseline), post training (4 weeks after baseline, training starts 1 day after baseline) and follow-up (2 months after post-test)

Other Outcomes (3)

• Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) score change between pre and post training and follow up (two months after post)

  Pre training (baseline), post training (4 weeks after baseline, training starts 1 day after baseline) and follow-up (2 months after post-test)

• Symmetry Span score change between pre and post training and at follow-up measurement (2 months after post measurement)

  Pre training (baseline), post training (4 weeks after baseline, training starts 1 day after baseline) and follow-up (2 months after post-test)

• Internal shift task score change between pre and post training and at follow-up measurement (2 months after post measurement)

  Pre training (baseline), post training (4 weeks after baseline, training starts 1 day after baseline) and follow-up (2 months after post-test)

Study Arms (2)

Working memory training

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Working memory training

Placebo training

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Placebo training

Interventions

Working memory training BEHAVIORAL

The WM consisted of two tasks; the Number-letter task (Rogers \& Monsell, 1995) and an Updating task. The Number-letter task trains the ability to shift between task relevant stimuli. Participants need to shift between four categories. In the Updating task participants receive a set of three words in which they have to compare the two consecutive words on emotional valence (positive or negative) to train their updating skills. Participants executed the training three times a week during four weeks.

Working memory training

Placebo training BEHAVIORAL

Both the WM and the placebo training consisted of two tasks; the Number-letter task (Rogers \& Monsell, 1995) and an Updating task. To prevent training WM the placebo training was a simplified version of the Number-letter task in which shifting was not required. In the Updating task the placebo group only had to count the number of positive or negative words. Participants executed the training three times a week during four weeks.

Placebo training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 16 Years - 68 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Major depression diagnosis
• Anxiety disorder diagnosis

You may not qualify if:

• Current psychosis
• Current substance dependency

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Erasmus Medical Center: lead

Study Sites (1)

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Rotterdam, South Holland, 3000 DR, Netherlands

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depressive Disorder, Major; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Rumination Syndrome

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Depressive Disorder; Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Feeding and Eating Disorders

Study Officials

• Elke Geraerts, PhD

  Erasmus University Rotterdam

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Sabine Wanmaker, MSc

  Erasmus University Rotterdam

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 8, 2014
• First Posted: April 22, 2014
• Study Start: April 1, 2011
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2011
• Study Completion: October 1, 2011
• Last Updated: April 22, 2014

Record last verified: 2014-04

Locations

NL (1)