Self-Report Anterograde and Retrograde Memory Outcomes Following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder

Poster Session D - Monday, April 15, 2024, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Tulip Marawi¹ (tulip.marawi@mail.utoronto.ca), Isabella J. Sewell¹, Georgia Gopinath¹, Claire Lauzon², Peter Giacobbe^1,3,4, Sean M. Nestor^1,3,4, Hyewon H. Lee⁴, Sandra E. Black^1,5, Nir Lipsman^1,3,6, Maged Goubran^1,3,7, Stefan Köhler⁸, R. Shayna Rosenbaum², Jennifer S. Rabin^1,3,5; ¹Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada., ³Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁴Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁵Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada., ⁶Department of Neurosurgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada., ⁷Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁸Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Research suggests that ECT may disproportionately affect memories formed in close temporal proximity to ECT, while older memories remain unaffected. Here, we tested this hypothesis with a novel self-report scale of retrograde memory, and contrasted performance against a validated scale of anterograde memory. Eighteen individuals with treatment-refractory MDD (mean age=41.5 years; 55.6% female) were tested before and after a course of ECT. Nine non-depressed controls (mean age=43.7 years; 30.3% female) were tested at a single time point. To assess retrograde memory, participants completed the Subjective Appraisal of Retrospective Memory (SARM). The SARM assesses the ability to recall detailed events across 5 distinct life periods: the past month, 1-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-5 years, and 5-10 years. To assess anterograde memory, participants completed the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ: Memory Mistakes). At baseline, compared to controls, patients reported greater difficulty remembering past events across all time periods on the SARM (p-value range: 0.007-0.1) and endorsed greater anterograde memory difficulties on the MMQ (F(1, 21)=6.14, p=0.02). Following ECT, on the SARM, patients reported greater difficulty remembering events from the month immediately preceding ECT (t(13)=2.2, p=0.048), with no significant changes for other time periods. ECT did not impact anterograde memory on the MMQ (t(13)=1.67, p=0.12). Our findings suggest that ECT may negatively impact the recall of episodic memories formed within the month prior to treatment, while more remote memories are unchanged. Self-perceived anterograde memory does not seem to be affected by ECT.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic