Publication
Title
Psychomotor functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome and major depressive disorder: a comparative study
Author
Abstract
Background Studies comparing chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and major depressive disorder (MDD) reported similarities as well as differences between the two disorders. However, whereas psychomotor symptoms have been studied extensively in MDD, such research in CFS is more limited. Moreover, the few studies that compared cognitive and motor performance in MDD and CFS yielded inconsistent results. This study hence directly compares fine psychomotor functioning in both syndromes. Methods Thirty-eight patients diagnosed with CFS without a current major depressive episode (MDE), 32 MDD patients with a current MDE and 38 healthy controls performed two computerized copying tasks differing in complexity: a line-copying task that mainly requires motor effort and a figure-copying task requiring additional cognitive efforts. All participants were female. A multivariate general linear model was used to compute group differences. Result Overall, both patient groups performed more slowly than the controls. Compared to CFS patients, patients with MDD needed significantly more time to copy the single lines but no such between-group performance difference was observed for the figure reproductions. In this latter copying task, the increasing complexity of the figures resulted in prolonged reaction times for all three participant groups with the effect being larger and the magnitude similar for the two patient groups. Limitations All patients were female and most were on psychotropic medication. Conclusions Both the MDD and CFS patients tested demonstrated an overall fine motor slowing, with the motor component being more affected in the MDD patients than in the CFS patients while both patient groups showed similar cognitive impairments.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of affective disorders. - Amsterdam
Publication
Amsterdam : 2009
ISSN
0165-0327
DOI
10.1016/J.JAD.2008.08.010
Volume/pages
115 :1/2 (2009) , p. 46-53
ISI
000265319900006
Note
doi:10.1016/j.jad.2008.08.010
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 08.10.2008
Last edited 04.03.2024
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