Verbal Learning and Memory Deficits across Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Insights from an ENIGMA Mega Analysis
Eamonn Kennedy, Spencer W. Liebel, Hannah M. Lindsey, Shashank Vadlamani, Pui‐Wa Lei, Maheen M. Adamson, Martin Alda, Sílvia Alonso-Lana, Tim Anderson, Celso Arango, Robert F. Asarnow, Mihai Avram, Rosa Ayesa‐Arriola, Talin Babikian, Nerisa Banaj, Laura Bird, Stefan Borgwardt, Amy Brodtmann, Katharina Brosch, Karen Caeyenberghs, Vince D. Calhoun, Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, David X. Cifu, Benedicto Crespo‐Facorro, John C. Dalrymple‐Alford, Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Udo Dannlowski, David Darby, Nicholas D. Davenport, John DeLuca, Covadonga M. Díaz‐Caneja, Seth G. Disner, Ekaterina Dobryakova, Stefan Ehrlich, Carrie Esopenko, Fabio Ferrarelli, Lea E. Frank, Carol E. Franz, Paola Fuentes‐Claramonte, Helen M. Genova, Christopher C. Giza, Janik Goltermann, Dominik Grotegerd, Marius Gruber, Alfonso Gutiérrez‐Zotes, Minji Ha, Jan Haavik, Charles H. Hinkin, Kristen R. Hoskinson, Daniela Hubl, Andrei Irimia, Andreas Jansen, Michael Kaess, Xiaojian Kang, Kimbra Kenney, Barbora Keřková, Mohamed Salah Khlif, Minah Kim, Jochen Kindler, Tilo Kircher, Karolína Knížková, Knut K. Kolskår, Denise Krch, William S. Kremen, Taylor Kuhn, Veena Kumari, Jun-Soo Kwon, Roberto Langella, Sarah Laskowitz, Jungha Lee, Jean Lengenfelder, Victoria Liou‐Johnson, Sara M. Lippa, Marianne Løvstad, Astri J. Lundervold, Cassandra Marotta, Craig A. Marquardt, Paulo Mattos, Ahmad Mayeli, Carrie R. McDonald, Susanne Meinert, Tracy R. Melzer, Jessica Merchán‐Naranjo, Chantal Michel, Rajendra A. Morey, Benson Mwangi, Daniel J. Myall, Igor Nenadić, Mary R. Newsome, Abraham Nunes, Terence J. O’Brien, Viola Oertel, John Ollinger, Alexander Olsen, Víctor Ortiz‐García de la Foz, Mustafa Ozmen, Heath Pardoe, Marise B. Parent, Fabrizio Piras, Federica Piras
Abstract
Deficits in memory performance have been linked to a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. While many studies have assessed the memory impacts of individual conditions, this study considers a broader perspective by evaluating how memory recall is differentially associated with nine common neuropsychiatric conditions using data drawn from 55 international studies, aggregating 15,883 unique participants aged 15–90. The effects of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder on immediate, short-, and long-delay verbal learning and memory (VLM) scores were estimated relative to matched healthy individuals. Random forest models identified age, years of education, and site as important VLM covariates. A Bayesian harmonization approach was used to isolate and remove site effects. Regression estimated the adjusted association of each clinical group with VLM scores. Memory deficits were strongly associated with dementia and schizophrenia (p < 0.001), while neither depression nor ADHD showed consistent associations with VLM scores (p > 0.05). Differences associated with clinical conditions were larger for longer delayed recall duration items. By comparing VLM across clinical conditions, this study provides a foundation for enhanced diagnostic precision and offers new insights into disease management of comorbid disorders.