Cortical Thickness of the Salience Network and Change in Apathy Following Antidepressant Treatment for Late-Life Depression.

Objective: Apathy is common in late-life depression and is associated with poor response to antidepressant drugs. In depressed older adults, apathy may be characterized by neuroanatomical abnormalities of the salience network. The current study examined whether cortical thickness of select salience network structures predicted change in apathy following a 12-week treatment with escitalopram.

Neuroanatomical Abnormalities in Older Depressed Adults With Apathy: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Apathy is a common phenomenon in late-life depression and is associated with poor outcomes. Apathy is often unrecognized in older depressed adults, and efficacious treatment options are lacking. This review provides a systematic review of the neuroanatomical abnormalities associated with apathy in late-life depression.

Computerized cognitive training and functional recovery in major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis.

Objective: Depression is common, frequently resistant to antidepressant treatment, and associated with impairments in cognition and everyday functioning. Computerized cognitive training (CCT) paradigms offer potential to improve cognition, mood and everyday functioning, but their effectiveness is not well established. The goal of this article was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of CCT in depressive disorders.

A Meta-Analysis of Executive Dysfunction and Antidepressant Treatment Response in Late-Life Depression.

Objective: Depressed older adults with executive dysfunction (ED) may respond poorly to antidepressant treatment. ED is a multifaceted construct and different studies have measured different aspects of ED, making it unclear which aspects predict poor response. Meta-analytic methods were used to determine whether ED predicts poor antidepressant treatment response in late-life depression and to determine which domains of executive functioning are responsible for this relationship.

Speed of processing and depression affect function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of depression and cognition on function in older adults with amnestic and nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI and nonaMCI).

Design: The study uses baseline data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center.

Setting: Data were collected at multiple Alzheimer's Disease Centers in the United States.

The external validity of MRI-defined vascular depression.

Objective: Multiple diagnostic criteria have been used to define vascular depression (VD). As a result, there are discrepancies in the clinical characteristics that have been established for the illness. The aim of this study was twofold.

Contribution of spontaneous improvement to placebo response in depression: a meta-analytic review.

Objectives: It is unknown to what degree spontaneous improvement accounts for the large placebo response observed in antidepressant trials for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The purpose of this study was to estimate the spontaneous improvement observed in treatment-seeking individuals with acute MDD by determining the symptom change in depressed patients assigned to wait-list controls in psychotherapy studies.

Method: The databases PubMed and PsycINFO were searched to identify randomized, prospective studies randomizing outpatients to psychotherapy or a wait-list control condition for the treatment of acute MDD.

Executive dysfunction and treatment response in late-life depression.

Objectives: Executive dysfunction in geriatric depression has been shown to predict poor response to antidepressant medication. The purpose of this review is to clarify which aspects of executive functioning predict poor antidepressant treatment response.

Methods: Literature review.