Clinical Study

Does Duloxetine Improve Cognitive Function Independently of Its Antidepressant Effect in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Subjective Reports of Cognitive Dysfunction?

Table 1

Description of cognitive function outcome measures.

TaskAcronymOutcome measureDescription

Attention
Big/little circleBLCMean correct latency (ms)Speed of response showing how quickly participant touched the correct stimulus after it was displayed on the screen
Mean percent correct (%) Percent of total correct responses
Reaction timeRTIFive-choice movement time (ms) Time taken to touch correct stimulus after release of the press pad
Five-choice reaction time (ms) Speed with which participant releases press pad in response to stimulus at one of five locations

Visual Memory
Delayed matching to sampleDMSPercent correct (all delays) (%)Percent of correct stimulus selection after stimulus was hidden at delays of 0 s, 4 s, and 12 s
Percent correct (simultaneous) (%) Percent of correct stimulus selection during simultaneous presentation of target stimulus and distractors
Mean correct latency (all delays) Average speed of response where correct stimulus was selected in trials in which stimulus was hidden at delays of 0 s, 4 s, and 12 s
Mean correct latency (simultaneous) Average speed of response where correct stimulus was selected in trials with simultaneous presentation of target stimulus and distractors
Paired associates learningPALMean trials to success Total number of trials required to correctly locate patterns/number of successfully completed stages
Total errors (adjusted) Total number of errors with adjustment for each stage not attempted due to previous failure
Total trials (adjusted) Total number of presentations required to correctly locate patterns in all stages
Pattern recognition memoryPRMPercent correct Percent correct responses
Mean correct latency (ms) Mean time to respond correctly

Executive Function/Set-Shifting and Working Memory
Intra/extradimensional set-shiftingIEDStages completedNumber of stages completed out of nine possible
Pre-ED errorsNumber of errors prior to the extradimensional shift
EDS errorsErrors made in the extradimensional stage
Spatial working memorySWMStrategyNumber of times participant begins a search with the same box for 6- and 8-box problems
Between errors (4, 6, and 8 boxes)Times the participant revisits a box in which a token was previously found; errors calculated for 4-, 6-, and 8-box trials

Executive Function/Spatial Planning
Stockings of CambridgeSOCProblems solved in minimum movesNumber of times participant successfully completed a test problem in the minimum possible number of moves
Mean initial thinking time (2, 3, 4, and 5 moves)Time taken to plan a problem solution for trials requiring 2, 3, 4, and 5 moves
Mean subsequent thinking time (2, 3, 4, and 5 moves)Speed of movement after the initial move has been made for trials requiring 2, 3, 4, and 5 moves

Decision Making and Response Control
Affective go/no-goAGNMean correct latencyMean time taken to respond correctly to each target word stimulus in all assessed blocks.
Total omissionsTotal number of missed responses to targets in all assessed blocks
Total commissionsTotal number of responses to distractors in all assessed blocks

Verbal Learning and Memory
Verbal recognition memory VRMImmediate free recall total correctTotal number of words correctly recalled immediately following presentation of word list
Immediate free recall total novel words Total number of words recalled immediately following presentation of word list that were not a part of the list
Immediate free recall total perseverationsTotal number of times a previously correctly recalled word is repeated immediately following presentation of word
Immediate recognition total correct Total number of words correctly recalled during presentation of word list that includes correct targets and distractors
Immediate recognition total false positivesTotal number of distractors endorsed as correct responses during presentation of word list that includes correct targets and distracters
Delayed recognition total correct Total number of words correctly recalled during presentation of word list that includes correct targets and distractors following 20 min delay from original presentation of word list
Delayed recognition total false positivesTotal number of distractors endorsed as correct responses during presentation of word list that includes correct targets and distractors following 20 min delay from original presentation of word list