Memory Deficits in Patients with DSM-IV Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
2001; Karger Publishers; Volume: 34; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1159/000049292
ISSN1423-033X
AutoresWerner Zitterl, Claudia Urban, Leopold Linzmayer, Martin Aigner, Ulrike Demal, Brigitte Semler, Karin Zitterl‐Eglseer,
Tópico(s)Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
ResumoNeuropsychological testing provides increasing evidence that certain memory deficits might play an essential role in the emergence of doubts and, as a result, in perpetuating checkers' rituals. Another account of doubting implicates meta-cognitive factors, such as confidence in memory. The present study examined mnestic functioning and self-perception of memory ability in a group of 27 nondepressed patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and 27 normal controls. All patients met DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria for OCD, displayed prominent behavioral checking rituals and had to show a score on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) of at least 16. Significant deficits in intermediate (Lern- und Gedächtnistest; LGT-3) and immediate (Corsi Block-Tapping Test) nonverbal memory were identified in the patients with OCD compared to normal controls. Contrary to predictions, OCD patients also showed a significant deficit in general memory and verbal memory (LGT-3). With respect to meta-cognition, OCD patients reported less confidence in their memories than controls. These findings suggest that obsessional doubt reflects a deficit in memory as well as a deficit in memory confidence. Depending on which dysfunction predominates, different therapeutic procedures seem to be required.
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