Predicting depression using the Dean-Woodcock Sensory Motor Battery

Archival data was used in the present study to assess the ability of the Dean-Woodcock Sensory-Motor Battery (DWSMB) to distinguish between normals and individuals with a diagnosis of depression. The data for the clinical groups of adolescents and adults were collected from a large, midwestern neurology clinic. Two groups, identified as depressed or depressed with comorbid anxiety, based on diagnoses made by a board certified neuropsychologist, were formed. The two groups were then compared to a sample of individuals with no reported history of neurological or psychiatric impairment randomly selected from the original DWSMB normative group.;Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used to determine if the groups were significantly different. Discriminant Analysis was then employed to determine if these differences could be used to reliably predict group membership and thus provide an accurate means for the differential diagnosis of depression. Results demonstrated that differences in sensory and motor functioning did exist between normals and the depressed with comorbid anxiety group only. Measures of cortical and subcortical motor function, motor speed, motor coordination, and visual and auditory acuity on the Dean-Woodcock Sensory Motor Battery were able to accurately distinguish depression with comorbid anxiety from the normative sample to a clinically significant degree (83%). The study argues for the use of sensory and motor tasks in the evaluation of individuals with depression and anxiety.