Objective and Subjective Cognitive Functioning in Anhedonic Depression: A Partial-Sample Study Within a Randomized Controlled Trial
(2026) PSPR14 20261Department of Psychology
- Abstract
- Depression is associated with cognitive impairments, yet findings remain inconsistent regarding which cognitive functions are affected and to what extent, potentially due to disorder heterogeneity and reliance on composite measures of cognitive functioning in previous research. The present study examined cognitive functioning in individuals with anhedonic depression using objective neuropsychological tests and a subjective self-report measure within a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the drug Pramipexole. Forty-eight patients and 18 healthy controls were assessed at baseline and after nine weeks. Baseline comparisons indicated limited differences between the clinical sample and healthy controls on objective measures,... (More)
- Depression is associated with cognitive impairments, yet findings remain inconsistent regarding which cognitive functions are affected and to what extent, potentially due to disorder heterogeneity and reliance on composite measures of cognitive functioning in previous research. The present study examined cognitive functioning in individuals with anhedonic depression using objective neuropsychological tests and a subjective self-report measure within a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the drug Pramipexole. Forty-eight patients and 18 healthy controls were assessed at baseline and after nine weeks. Baseline comparisons indicated limited differences between the clinical sample and healthy controls on objective measures, with indications of potential deficits in the domains of executive functioning and memory. Subjective cognitive deficits were markedly elevated in the clinical sample. Over time, objective functioning showed minimal change across all groups (active treatment, placebo and healthy controls), with indications of potential change in the domain of executive functioning. Subjective functioning improved in the clinical groups, although it remained impaired compared to the healthy controls. Changes in anhedonia were largely unrelated to change in performance on objective tests but were strongly associated with subjective cognitive functioning. Substantial ceiling effects were found in several subtests of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), indicating limited discriminative sensitivity of RBANS in high-functioning depressed populations. Low statistical power may have decreased the study's capacity to detect potential group differences. Furthermore, findings highlight the importance of combining objective and subjective measures of cognitive
functioning and using larger samples in future studies. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Patienter med depression uppvisar ofta kognitiva nedsättningar. Tidigare forskning har visat inkonsekventa resultat avseende vilka kognitiva funktioner som påverkas och i vilken utsträckning. Dessa variationer skulle kunna förklaras av depressionens heterogena karaktär samt att tidigare studier ofta har rapporterat resultat i sammansatta mått på kognitiv funktion. Denna studie undersökte kognitiv funktion hos individer med anhedonisk depression mätt med både objektiva neuropsykologiska tester samt ett subjektivt självskattningsinstrument inom ramen för en randomiserad, dubbelblind, placebokontrollerad studie av läkemedlet Pramipexol. Fyrtioåtta patienter och 18 friska kontroller bedömdes vid studiestart och efter nio veckor. Vid baseline... (More)
- Patienter med depression uppvisar ofta kognitiva nedsättningar. Tidigare forskning har visat inkonsekventa resultat avseende vilka kognitiva funktioner som påverkas och i vilken utsträckning. Dessa variationer skulle kunna förklaras av depressionens heterogena karaktär samt att tidigare studier ofta har rapporterat resultat i sammansatta mått på kognitiv funktion. Denna studie undersökte kognitiv funktion hos individer med anhedonisk depression mätt med både objektiva neuropsykologiska tester samt ett subjektivt självskattningsinstrument inom ramen för en randomiserad, dubbelblind, placebokontrollerad studie av läkemedlet Pramipexol. Fyrtioåtta patienter och 18 friska kontroller bedömdes vid studiestart och efter nio veckor. Vid baseline observerades begränsade skillnader mellan grupperna i objektiva mått, med indikationer på potentiella nedsättningar i exekutiv funktion och minne i den kliniska gruppen. Subjektiva kognitiva svårigheter rapporterades i betydande högre grad i den kliniska gruppen. Mellan baseline och uppföljning noterades endast marginella förändringar i objektiv kognitiv funktion i samtliga grupper, med tydligast indikationer på förändring i exekutiv funktion. Subjektiv kognitiv funktion förbättrades i de kliniska grupperna, men resultaten indikerade att självrapporterade svårigheter kvarstod. Förändringar i anhedoni var i stor utsträckning orelaterade till förändringar i objektiva kognitiva mått, men visade starka samband med förändringar i subjektiv kognitiv funktion. Betydande takeffekter noterades i flera deltest av Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) vilket tyder på begränsad känslighet i relativt högfungerande depressiva populationer. Låg power kan ha minskat studiens känslighet för att upptäcka subtila gruppskillnader. Vidare belyser resultaten vikten av att kombinera objektiva och subjektiva mått på kognitiv
funktion och att använda större urval i framtida studier. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9228694
- author
- Stålhammar, Erika LU and Braconier, Ellen LU
- supervisor
-
- Åsa Hammar LU
- Daiva Daukantaité LU
- organization
- course
- PSPR14 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- RBANS, D-KEFS CWIT, Stroop, PDQ-5, Pramipexole, Pramipexol, anhedonia, anhedoni
- language
- English
- id
- 9228694
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-03 11:12:49
- date last changed
- 2026-06-03 11:12:49
@misc{9228694,
abstract = {{Depression is associated with cognitive impairments, yet findings remain inconsistent regarding which cognitive functions are affected and to what extent, potentially due to disorder heterogeneity and reliance on composite measures of cognitive functioning in previous research. The present study examined cognitive functioning in individuals with anhedonic depression using objective neuropsychological tests and a subjective self-report measure within a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the drug Pramipexole. Forty-eight patients and 18 healthy controls were assessed at baseline and after nine weeks. Baseline comparisons indicated limited differences between the clinical sample and healthy controls on objective measures, with indications of potential deficits in the domains of executive functioning and memory. Subjective cognitive deficits were markedly elevated in the clinical sample. Over time, objective functioning showed minimal change across all groups (active treatment, placebo and healthy controls), with indications of potential change in the domain of executive functioning. Subjective functioning improved in the clinical groups, although it remained impaired compared to the healthy controls. Changes in anhedonia were largely unrelated to change in performance on objective tests but were strongly associated with subjective cognitive functioning. Substantial ceiling effects were found in several subtests of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), indicating limited discriminative sensitivity of RBANS in high-functioning depressed populations. Low statistical power may have decreased the study's capacity to detect potential group differences. Furthermore, findings highlight the importance of combining objective and subjective measures of cognitive
functioning and using larger samples in future studies.}},
author = {{Stålhammar, Erika and Braconier, Ellen}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Objective and Subjective Cognitive Functioning in Anhedonic Depression: A Partial-Sample Study Within a Randomized Controlled Trial}},
year = {{2026}},
}