1
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Mirabolfathi V, Choobin MH, Moradi AR, Sanambari F, Naeini S, Mahdavi M, Hitchcock C. Improving access to psychological intervention in low-middle income settings: Results from a waitlist-controlled, proof-of-concept trial of the MemFlex intervention for trauma-exposed Afghan youth. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38736135 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low-intensity interventions targeting a range of mental health issues offer a scalable approach for young trauma survivors in low-middle income countries. AIMS Here, we present results from a proof-of-concept, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial evaluating MemFlex, an autobiographical memory-based intervention, for trauma-exposed Afghan youth residing in Iran. MemFlex seeks to reduce the negative and overgeneral memory biases which maintain and predict poor mental health. MATERIALS AND METHODS Young people aged 12-18 years (N = 40) with parents who had experienced forced migration from Afghanistan were recruited from high schools in Karaj City in Iran. All had experienced a traumatic event in the last year. Participants were randomized to receive four weeks of a group-based delivery of MemFlex or Waitlist. Our primary cognitive outcome was autobiographical memory flexibility, that is, the ability to deliberately retrieve any memory type on demand. Primary clinical outcome was emotional distress, measured on the Farsi version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. RESULTS Results indicated that MemFlex participants demonstrated large effect sizes for pre-to-post improvement in memory flexibility (d = 2.04) and emotional distress (d = 1.23). These improvements were significantly larger than Waitlist (ds < .49), and were maintained at three-month follow-up. DISCUSSION Positive benefits were observed for completion of MemFlex, and future comparison against an active intervention appears warranted. CONCLUSION Further evaluation of MemFlex in this context may offer a low-cost, and low-resource intervention to improve access to psychological intervention for young migrants in low-middle income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vida Mirabolfathi
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad H Choobin
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | | | - Mohamad Mahdavi
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | - Caitlin Hitchcock
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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2
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Duken SB, Keessen L, Hoijtink H, Kindt M, van Ast VA. Bayesian evaluation of diverging theories of episodic and affective memory distortions in dysphoria. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1320. [PMID: 38351107 PMCID: PMC10864297 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45203-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
People suffering from dysphoria retrieve autobiographical memories distorted in content and affect, which may contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of depression. However, key memory difficulties in dysphoria remain elusive because theories disagree how memories of different valence are altered. Here, we assessed the psychophysiological expression of affect and retrieved episodic detail while participants with dysphoria (but without a diagnosed mental illness) and participants without dysphoria relived positive, negative, and neutral memories. We show that participants with dysphoria retrieve positive memories with diminished episodic detail and negative memories with enhanced detail, compared to participants without dysphoria. This is in line with negativity bias but not overgeneral memory bias theories. According to confirmatory analyses, participants with dysphoria also express diminished positive affect and enhanced negative affect when retrieving happy memories, but exploratory analyses suggest that this increase in negative affect may not be robust. Further confirmatory analyses showed that affective responses to memories are not related to episodic detail and already present during the experience of new emotional events. Our results indicate that affective memory distortions may not emerge from mnemonic processes but from general distortions in positive affect, which challenges assumptions of memory theories and therapeutics. Protocol registration: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on the 18rd of March 2021. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14605374.v1 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha B Duken
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Liza Keessen
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Herbert Hoijtink
- Department of Methodology and Statistics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Merel Kindt
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Vanessa A van Ast
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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3
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Griffiths K, Stretton J, Dalgleish T. Memory bias for social hierarchical information is modulated by perceived social rank. Memory 2022; 30:650-657. [PMID: 35129427 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2029902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Hierarchies pervade human society, characterising its members along diverse dimensions ranging from their abilities or skills in a particular domain to their economic status or physical stature. One intriguing aspect of the centrality of hierarchies, relative to egalitarian constructs, is that hierarchically-organised social information appears to be remembered more easily than non-hierarchically-organised information. However, it is not yet clear how one's social rank within a hierarchy influences processing. In a pre-registered study with 66 healthy participants, we examined memory recall for hierarchical information when participants themselves were positioned higher in the hierarchy versus lower in the hierarchy, both relative to an egalitarian control condition. The results replicate previous work showing that hierarchical information is memorised faster relative to the egalitarian control. Importantly, this effect was modulated by the participant's position within the hierarchy, with higher positioned participants memorising information faster than lower-positioned participants. This study provides new evidence showing biases in memory will favour hierarchical information if modulated by perceptions of one's own social rank.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty Griffiths
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jason Stretton
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Hitchcock C, Rudokaite J, Haag C, Patel SD, Smith AJ, Kuhn I, Jermann F, Ma SH, Kuyken W, Williams JM, Watkins E, Bockting CLH, Crane C, Fisher D, Dalgleish T. Autobiographical memory style and clinical outcomes following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): An individual patient data meta-analysis. Behav Res Ther 2022; 151:104048. [PMID: 35121385 PMCID: PMC7613018 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent methodological advances in individual patient data meta-analysis to determine a) whether memory specificity is improved following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), relative to control interventions, and b) whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response. All bar one study evaluated MBCT for relapse prevention for depression. Our initial analysis therefore focussed on MBCT datasets only(n = 708), then were repeated including the additional dataset(n = 880). Memory specificity did not significantly differ from baseline to post-treatment for either MBCT and Control interventions. There was no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted treatment response in terms of symptom-levels, or risk of relapse. Findings raise important questions regarding the role of memory specificity in depressive treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Hitchcock
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Judita Rudokaite
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Christina Haag
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Shivam D Patel
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Alicia J Smith
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Isla Kuhn
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
| | | | - S Helen Ma
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | | | - Claudi L H Bockting
- Amsterdam Medical University Centres and Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - David Fisher
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK
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5
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Beach SRH, Ong ML, Lei MK, Klopack E, Carter SE, Simons RL, Gibbons FX, Lavner JA, Philibert RA, Ye K. Childhood adversity is linked to adult health among African Americans via adolescent weight gain and effects are genetically moderated. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 33:803-820. [PMID: 32372728 PMCID: PMC7644595 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420000061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Identifying the mechanisms linking early experiences, genetic risk factors, and their interaction with later health consequences is central to the development of preventive interventions and identifying potential boundary conditions for their efficacy. In the current investigation of 412 African American adolescents followed across a 20-year period, we examined change in body mass index (BMI) across adolescence as one possible mechanism linking childhood adversity and adult health. We found associations of childhood adversity with objective indicators of young adult health, including a cardiometabolic risk index, a methylomic aging index, and a count of chronic health conditions. Childhood adversities were associated with objective indicators indirectly through their association with gains in BMI across adolescence and early adulthood. We also found evidence of an association of genetic risk with weight gain across adolescence and young adult health, as well as genetic moderation of childhood adversity's effect on gains in BMI, resulting in moderated mediation. These patterns indicated that genetic risk moderated the indirect pathways from childhood adversity to young adult health outcomes and childhood adversity moderated the indirect pathways from genetic risk to young adult health outcomes through effects on weight gain during adolescence and early adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven R. H. Beach
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia
| | - Mei Ling Ong
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia
| | - Man-Kit Lei
- Department of Sociology, University of Georgia
| | | | | | | | | | - Justin A. Lavner
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia
| | - Robert A. Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa
- Behavioral Diagnostics, Coralville, Iowa
| | - Kaixiong Ye
- Department of Genetics and Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia
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6
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Moradi AR, Piltan M, Choobin MH, Azadfallah P, Watson P, Dalgleish T, Hitchcock C. Proof of Concept for the Autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Clin Psychol Sci 2021; 9:686-698. [PMID: 34354873 PMCID: PMC8278548 DOI: 10.1177/2167702620982576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Autobiographical memory distortions are a key feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (N = 43), we evaluated an autobiographical memory flexibility intervention, MemFlex. We aimed to determine whether the mechanism-focused intervention, which aims to improve autobiographical memory processes, may also affect other cognitive predictors of PTSD and potentially reduce PTSD symptoms in Iranian trauma survivors diagnosed with PTSD. Results indicated significant, moderate to large between-groups effect sizes in favor of MemFlex, relative to wait-list control, for the targeted cognitive mechanism of autobiographical memory flexibility and PTSD symptoms. A large, significant effect was also observed on maladaptive posttraumatic cognitions-a strong predictor of PTSD prognosis, which is a key target of high-intensity cognitive therapies for PTSD. Findings support future completion of a scaled-up trial to evaluate treatment efficacy of MemFlex for PTSD to determine whether MemFlex may offer a culturally adaptive, low-cost, low-intensity intervention able to improve cognitive mechanisms of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Reza Moradi
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Sciences Studies, Kharazmi University
| | - Maryam Piltan
- Department of Psychology, Tarbiat Modares University
| | | | | | - Peter Watson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire, England
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7
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Hitchcock C, Smith AJ, Elliott R, O'Leary C, Gormley S, Parker J, Patel SD, Esteves CV, Rodrigues E, Hammond E, Watson P, Werner-Seidler A, Dalgleish T. A randomized, controlled proof-of-concept trial evaluating durable effects of memory flexibility training (MemFlex) on autobiographical memory distortions and on relapse of recurrent major depressive disorder over 12 months. Behav Res Ther 2021; 140:103835. [PMID: 33691266 PMCID: PMC8047774 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Low-intensity psychological interventions that target cognitive risk factors for depressive relapse may improve access to relapse prevention programs and thereby reduce subsequent risk. This study provides the first evaluation of an autobiographical memory-based intervention for relapse prevention, to establish whether memory-training programs that are efficacious for acute depression may also aid those currently in remission. We also provide the longest follow-up to-date of the effects of autobiographical memory training on autobiographical memory processes themselves. This pre-registered randomized-controlled proof-of-concept trial (N = 74) compared an autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) intervention to Psychoeducation about cognitive-behavioral mechanisms which maintain depression. Both interventions were primarily self-guided, and delivered via paper workbooks completed over four weeks. The key cognitive outcome was ability to retrieve and alternate between specific and general autobiographical memories. Co-primary clinical outcomes were time until depressive relapse and depression-free days in the twelve-months following intervention. Results indicated a small-moderate effect size (d = 0.35) in favor of MemFlex for the cognitive outcome. A small Hazard Ratio (1.08) was observed for time until depressive relapse, along with a negligible effect size for depression-free days (d = 0.11). Although MemFlex produced long-term improvement in memory retrieval skills, there was little support for MemFlex as a relapse prevention program for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Hitchcock
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.
| | - Alicia J Smith
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Rachel Elliott
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Cliodhna O'Leary
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Siobhan Gormley
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Jenna Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Shivam D Patel
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Carlos V Esteves
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Evangeline Rodrigues
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Emily Hammond
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; University of Exeter, UK
| | - Peter Watson
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK
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8
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Sheldon S, Peters S, Renoult L. Altering access to autobiographical episodes with prior semantic knowledge. Conscious Cogn 2020; 86:103039. [PMID: 33220651 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Within autobiographical knowledge, semantic and episodic memory are traditionally considered separate, but newer models place them along a continuum, which raises the possibility of an intermediate form of knowledge - personal semantics. This study tested how different types of semantics - general semantics and two forms of personal semantics - impact access to personal episodic memories. In two experiments, participants made a series of true/false judgments about a prime statement, which reflected a general semantic fact, a context-dependent (e.g., repeated event) or context-independent (e.g., trait), personal semantic fact and then retrieved a specific past episodic memory. There was a significantly stronger priming effect for accessing specific episodic memories after judging personal semantic facts versus general facts. We also found that context-dependent and -independent personal semantic facts had separable priming effects on episodic memory. These findings support a continuum model of memory and verifies that there are multiple forms of personal knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Sarah Peters
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Louis Renoult
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
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9
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Hitchcock C, Newby J, Timm E, Howard RM, Golden AM, Kuyken W, Dalgleish T. Memory category fluency, memory specificity, and the fading affect bias for positive and negative autobiographical events: Performance on a good day-bad day task in healthy and depressed individuals. J Exp Psychol Gen 2019; 149:198-206. [PMID: 31192634 PMCID: PMC6921927 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In mentally healthy individuals, autobiographical memory is typically biased toward positive events, which may help to maintain psychological well-being. Our aim was to assess a range of important positive memory biases in the mentally healthy and explore the possibility that these biases are mitigated in those with mental health problems. We administered a novel recall paradigm that required recollection of multiple good and bad past events (the Good Day–Bad Day task) to healthy and depressed individuals. This allowed us to explore differences in memory category fluency (i.e., the ability to generate integrated sets of associated events) for positive and negative memories, along with memory specificity, and fading affect bias—a greater reduction in the intensity of memory-related affect over time for negative versus positive events. We found that healthy participants demonstrated superior category fluency for positive relative to negative events but that this effect was absent in depressed participants. Healthy participants exhibited a strong fading affect bias that was significantly mitigated, although still present, in depression. Finally, memory specificity was reduced in depression for both positive and negative memories. Findings demonstrate that the positive bias associated with mental health is maintained by multiple autobiographical memory processes and that depression is as much a function of the absence of these positive biases as it is the presence of negative biases. Results provide important guidance for developing new treatments for improving mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Emma Timm
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
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10
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Hitchcock C, Rodrigues E, Rees C, Gormley S, Dritschel B, Dalgleish T. Misremembrance of Things Past: Depression Is Associated With Difficulties in the Recollection of Both Specific and Categoric Autobiographical Memories. Clin Psychol Sci 2019; 7:693-700. [PMID: 32655985 PMCID: PMC7324083 DOI: 10.1177/2167702619826967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Impaired retrieval of specific, autobiographical memories of personally
experienced events is characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD).
However, findings in subclinical samples suggest that the reduced specificity
phenomenon may reflect a broader impairment in the deliberate retrieval of all
autobiographical memory types. This experiment (N = 68)
explored this possibility by requiring individuals with and without MDD to
complete a cued-recall task that required retrieval of specific, single-incident
memories to a block of cues; retrieval of categoric, general memories to a block
of cues; and to alternate between retrieval of specific and general memories for
a block of cues. Results demonstrated that relative to never-depressed controls,
individuals with MDD experience reduced recall of both specific
(d = 0.48) and general memories (d = 1.00)
along with reduced flexibility in alternating between specific and general
memories (d = 0.90). Findings support further development of
autobiographical memory–based interventions that target a range of retrieval
deficits rather than specificity alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Hitchcock
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge.,Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust
| | - Evangeline Rodrigues
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Catrin Rees
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Siobhan Gormley
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge.,Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust
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11
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Positive memory specificity is associated with reduced vulnerability to depression. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 3:265-273. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-018-0504-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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12
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Hitchcock C, Gormley S, Rees C, Rodrigues E, Gillard J, Panesar I, Wright IM, Hammond E, Watson P, Werner-Seidler A, Dalgleish T. A randomised controlled trial of memory flexibility training (MemFlex) to enhance memory flexibility and reduce depressive symptomatology in individuals with major depressive disorder. Behav Res Ther 2018; 110:22-30. [PMID: 30199738 PMCID: PMC6173798 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Successful navigation within the autobiographical memory store is integral to daily cognition. Impairment in the flexibility of memory retrieval can thereby have a detrimental impact on mental health. This randomised controlled phase II exploratory trial (N = 60) evaluated the potential of a novel intervention drawn from basic science - an autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) training programme - which sought to ameliorate memory difficulties and improve symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. MemFlex was compared to Psychoeducation (an evidence-based low-intensity intervention) to determine the likely range of effects on a primary cognitive target of memory flexibility at post-intervention, and co-primary clinical targets of self-reported depressive symptoms and diagnostic status at three-month follow-up. These effect sizes could subsequently be used to estimate sample size for a fully-powered trial. Results demonstrated small-moderate, though as expected statistically non-significant, effect sizes in favour of MemFlex for memory flexibility (d = 0.34, p = .20), and loss of diagnosis (OR = 0.65, p = .48), along with the secondary outcome of depression-free days (d = 0.36, p = .18). A smaller effect size was observed for between-group difference in self-reported depressive symptoms (d = 0.24, p = .35). Effect sizes in favour of MemFlex in this early-stage trial suggest that fully-powered evaluation of MemFlex may be warranted as an avenue to improving low-intensity treatment of depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT02371291.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Hitchcock
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
| | - Siobhan Gormley
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Catrin Rees
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Evangeline Rodrigues
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Gillard
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Inderpal Panesar
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
| | - Isobel M Wright
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Hammond
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Watson
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
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13
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Werner-Seidler A, Hitchcock C, Bevan A, McKinnon A, Gillard J, Dahm T, Chadwick I, Panesar I, Breakwell L, Mueller V, Rodrigues E, Rees C, Gormley S, Schweizer S, Watson P, Raes F, Jobson L, Dalgleish T. A cluster randomized controlled platform trial comparing group MEmory specificity training (MEST) to group psychoeducation and supportive counselling (PSC) in the treatment of recurrent depression. Behav Res Ther 2018; 105:1-9. [PMID: 29587159 PMCID: PMC5937852 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Impaired ability to recall specific autobiographical memories is characteristic of depression, which when reversed, may have therapeutic benefits. This cluster-randomized controlled pilot trial investigated efficacy and aspects of acceptability, and feasibility of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) relative to Psychoeducation and Supportive Counselling (PSC) for Major Depressive Disorder (N = 62). A key aim of this study was to determine a range of effect size estimates to inform a later phase trial. Assessments were completed at baseline, post-treatment and 3-month follow-up. The cognitive process outcome was memory specificity. The primary clinical outcome was symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-II at 3-month follow-up. The MEST group demonstrated greater improvement in memory specificity relative to PSC at post-intervention (d = 0.88) and follow-up (d = 0.74), relative to PSC. Both groups experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms at 3-month follow-up (d = 0.67). However, there was no support for a greater improvement in depressive symptoms at 3 months following MEST relative to PSC (d = -0.04). Although MEST generated changes on memory specificity and improved depressive symptoms, results provide no indication that MEST is superior to PSC in the resolution of self-reported depressive symptoms. Implications for later-phase definitive trials of MEST are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliza Werner-Seidler
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Caitlin Hitchcock
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK
| | - Anna Bevan
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Anna McKinnon
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia Gillard
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Theresa Dahm
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Isobel Chadwick
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK
| | - Inderpal Panesar
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK
| | - Lauren Breakwell
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Viola Mueller
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Evangeline Rodrigues
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Catrin Rees
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Siobhan Gormley
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Susanne Schweizer
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Watson
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Filip Raes
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laura Jobson
- Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
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Hitchcock C, Gormley S, O’Leary C, Rodrigues E, Wright I, Griffiths K, Gillard J, Watson P, Hammond E, Werner-Seidler A, Dalgleish T. Study protocol for a randomised, controlled platform trial estimating the effect of autobiographical Memory Flexibility training (MemFlex) on relapse of recurrent major depressive disorder. BMJ Open 2018; 8:e018194. [PMID: 29382674 PMCID: PMC5829844 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic condition. Although current treatment approaches are effective in reducing acute depressive symptoms, rates of relapse are high. Chronic and inflexible retrieval of autobiographical memories, and in particular a bias towards negative and overgeneral memories, is a reliable predictor of relapse. This randomised controlled single-blind trial will determine whether a therapist-guided self-help intervention to ameliorate autobiographical memory biases using Memory Flexibility training (MemFlex) will increase the experience of depression-free days, relative to a psychoeducation control condition, in the 12 months following intervention. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Individuals (aged 18 and above) with a diagnosis of recurrent MDD will be recruited when remitted from a major depressive episode. Participants will be randomly allocated to complete 4 weeks of a workbook providing either MemFlex training, or psychoeducation on factors that increase risk of relapse. Assessment of diagnostic status, self-report depressive symptoms, depression-free days and cognitive risk factors for depression will be completed post-intervention, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The cognitive target of MemFlex will be change in memory flexibility on the Autobiographical Memory Test- Alternating Instructions. The primary clinical endpoints will be the number of depression-free days in the 12 months following workbook completion, and time to depressive relapse. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethics approval has been granted by the NHS National Research Ethics Committee (East of England, 11/H0305/1). Results from this study will provide a point-estimate of the effect of MemFlex on depressive relapse, which will be used to inform a fully powered trial evaluating the potential of MemFlex as an effective, low-cost and low-intensity option for reducing relapse of MDD. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT02614326.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Hitchcock
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Siobhan Gormley
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Cliodhna O’Leary
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Evangeline Rodrigues
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Isobel Wright
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kirsty Griffiths
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia Gillard
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Watson
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emily Hammond
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
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