Anxiety Mood.  2022 Apr;18(1):32-37. 10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.1.005.

Working Memory Impairment in a Delayed Matching-to-Sample Task Among Young Male Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

• KMID: 2529744
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.1.005

Abstract

Objective
: Impaired working memory has been known to play an important role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with growing evidence. Delayed matching-to-sample task (DMST) is a working memory task which have an advantage in analyzing several different working memory processes in one task. However, most of the studies have failed to reveal the working memory impairment with the DMST. The aim of this study was to identify whether working memory deficit in OCD can be evaluated with the DMST.
Methods
: The participants included 20 OCD patients and 20 healthy volunteers. Working memory was evaluated with the DMST with two different working memory loads. Accuracy of response and mean response time were measured.
Results
: OCD patients showed a significantly longer reaction time and lower accuracy in DMST com-pared to healthy controls in the task with high working memory loads. Moreover, the difference in accuracy showed interaction with the working memory load.
Conclusion
: The present results indicate that working memory deficit in patients with OCD can be eval-uated with the DMST. The findings also suggest that previous negative behavioral results using the DMST were from low working memory load of the task.

Keyword

Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Working memory; Delayed matching-to-sample task; Working memory load.