Original Article

대한불안의학회지 (18권1호 32-37)

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

지연 표본 대응 과제에서 나타나는 젊은 남성 강박장애 환자의 작업기억 결손

Young Jun Boo, MD1, Jin Young Park, MD2,3, Chan-Hyung Kim, MD3, and Se Joo Kim, MD3

Graduate school, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Department of Psychiatry, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System, Yongin, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Objectives : 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 process- es 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 re- sponse 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.

Conclusions : 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. (Anxiety and Mood 2022;18(1):32-37)

Keywords

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

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