False Memories in Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Cognitive Mechanisms and Experimental Findings

Abstract

Major depression and anxiety disorders are characterized by negative moods that are prolonged, intense, and persistent compared to transient, experimentally induced, or self-reported mood changes. The mood-congruent memory effect has been extensively demonstrated in studies involving individuals with depression and anxiety disorders. However, the effect of mood-congruent false memories has been investigated in fewer studies. This review examines the mechanisms underlying false memories in depression and anxiety disorders using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm and critically discusses current empirical findings. Available evidence indicates that the mood-congruent false memory effect is frequently observed in depression, whereas this effect appears to be more limited in anxiety disorders. Cognitive biases or heightened activation levels toward mood-congruent information (particularly concepts related to depression or threat) in these disorders may impair cognitive control processes or hinder effective monitoring, consequently increasing susceptibility to false memories. Furthermore, existing studies suggest that backward associative strength, resting activation levels, expertise, or salience may modulate the activation of negative (depression-related) information in depressive individuals. Finally, this review evaluates the literature within the theoretical framework of false memory formation, addresses methodological limitations, and provides recommendations for future research.

Keywords

• depression
• anxiety
• mood-congruent memory
• false memory

Depresyon ve Anksiyete Bozukluklarında Bellek Yanılmaları: Bilişsel Mekanizmalar ve Deneysel Bulgular

Öz

Majör depresyon ve anksiyete bozuklukları, negatif duygudurumun öznel bildirime dayalı veya deneysel değişimleme ile geçici olarak oluşturulan gruplara göre daha uzun süreli, yoğun ve kalıcı olduğu bozukluklardır. Duygudurum uyumlu bellek etkisi, hem depresyon hem de anksiyete bozukluğu olguları ile yürütülen çalışmalarda birçok kez gösterilmiştir. Buna karşın, duygudurum uyumlu bellek yanılması etkisi daha az sayıda çalışmada incelenmiştir. Bu derlemede, Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigması ile depresyon ve anksiyete bozukluklarında bellek yanılmalarının oluşum mekanizmaları incelenmiş ve mevcut bulgular tartışılmıştır. Bulgular, duygudurum uyumlu bellek yanılması etkisinin depresyonda sıklıkla gözlendiğini, anksiyete bozukluklarında ise bu etkinin daha sınırlı olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Depresyon ve anksiyete bozukluklarında, duygudurum (özellikle depresyon veya tehdit ile ilişkili kavramlar) ile uyumlu bilgilere yönelik bilişsel yanlılıklar veya yüksek aktivasyon seviyelerinin, bu bilgiler için bilişsel kontrolün veya izlemenin zorlaşmasına ve dolayısıyla bellek yanılmasına neden olabileceği değerlendirilmiştir. Bunun yanı sıra, çalışmalar depresyon olgularında negatif (depresyon ile ilişkili) bilgilere yönelik aktivasyon sürecine; geriye dönük çağrışım gücü, dinlenim aktivasyon seviyeleri, uzmanlık veya belirginlik gibi faktörlerin etki edebileceğine işaret etmektedir. Bu derleme, bellek yanılması teorileri bağlamında mevcut alanyazını ele almakta, yöntemsel sınırlılıklara dikkat çekmekte ve gelecekteki araştırmalar için öneriler sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• depresyon
• duygudurum uyumlu bellek
• bellek yanılması
• anksiyete

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