The Experiment On A Preference Of Emotional Memory In Depression

Objective Emotional memory(EM) which is a kind of scene memory and can becalled emotional awaking events memory also, is a process of coding, storaging andpicking up emotional stimulate information. Depression’s emotional memory existmood-congruent effect that patients with depression mood can recall moreinformation which consistent with depression mood. Patients with depression tonegative information memory results should better, that is a preference of the negativeinformation of emotional memory. Now, overseas studies on the issue is more deeply,and domestic is in preliminary stage. This research attempts to verify: To explore thenegative preference of emotional memory in depression, indirectly confirmed thatdepressed patients consistency of the existence of mood-congruent memory, andfurther test the correlation between emotional memory and symptoms.Methods1.Subjects:The experimental group subjects:25patients with depressionwere investigated from the psychiatric hospital in An-hui hefei who were in hospitalwithin two weeks in which the male11, female14. These patients were all indepression episode.Their average age was34.84±2.29years, the average educationdegree was9.84±0.73years. The control group subjects:25normal persons from thesame area who matched with the experimental group in which the male12, female13.Their average age was35.92±1.99years, the average education degree was9.88±0.58years.2.Methods:25depression patients and25normal controls were assessedby Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) on admission. After, all were required to givea score to a group of emotional pictures. Then, after72h a recall text was given to allthe persons.Results depression patients had worse recognition for positive scenes than control subjects(t=-3.098， P<0.05),the others don’t have significant difference onstatistics(t=-0.795，t=0.100，t=0.998，P>0.05).In depression patients,they had betterrecognition for negative scenes than positive and neutral scenes（P<0.01）,but incontrols, they don’t have the results. Depression patients’recognition for negativescenes and them SDS haven’t a correlation(r=0.064，P>0.05).Conclusion Depression patients have a negative preference of emotional memorybecause of a positive emotional memory impairment, which is not related tosymptoms.