PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jonathan Savitz
AU  - Lize van der Merwe
AU  - Mark Solms
AU  - Rajkumar Ramesar
TI  - Neurocognitive function in an extended Afrikaner-ancestry family with affective illness
DP  - 2007 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
PG  - 116--120
VI  - 32
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jpn.ca/content/32/2/116.short
4100  - http://jpn.ca/content/32/2/116.full
SO  - JPN2007 Mar 01; 32
AB  - Objective: To characterize the neuropsychological profile of an extended family with unipolar depression (UPD) and other forms of affective illness.Method: We administered a battery of neuropsychological tasks measuring various aspects of executive function and visual and verbal memory to 49 individuals in 1 extended family. Six participants had 1 lifetime episode of major depression (MDE-S), 15 were diagnosed with recurrent major depression (MDE-R), 11 had another DSM-IV diagnosis and 17 subjects were unaffected.Results: After controlling for multiple confounding factors, including mood and medication, the MDE-R sample made significantly more errors than unaffected relatives on the Stroop Task, a measure of cognitive control.Conclusion: There may be at least 1 subtype of UPD characterized by a state-independent deficit in cognitive control.