Verbal Learning and Memory Deficits across Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Insights from an ENIGMA Mega Analysis

Verbal Learning and Memory Deficits across Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Insights from an ENIGMA Mega Analysis

Eamonn Kennedy, …, Mihai Avram, …, Stefan Borgwardt,

DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14070669

Abstract

Deficits in memory performance have been linked to a wide range of neurological andneuropsychiatric conditions. While many studies have assessed the memory impacts of individ-ual conditions, this study considers a broader perspective by evaluating how memory recall isdifferentially associated with nine common neuropsychiatric conditions using data drawn from55 international studies, aggregating 15,883 unique participants aged 15–90. The effects of dementia,mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder on immediate, short-,and long-delay verbal learning and memory (VLM) scores were estimated relative to matched healthyindividuals. Random forest models identified age, years of education, and site as important VLMcovariates. A Bayesian harmonization approach was used to isolate and remove site effects. Regres-sion estimated the adjusted association of each clinical group with VLM scores. Memory deficitswere strongly associated with dementia and schizophrenia (p< 0.001), while neither depressionnor ADHD showed consistent associations with VLM scores (p> 0.05). Differences associated withclinical conditions were larger for longer delayed recall duration items. By comparing VLM acrossclinical conditions, this study provides a foundation for enhanced diagnostic precision and offersnew insights into disease management of comorbid disorders.

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