Implicit and explicit memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder

We examined implicit and explicit memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and in non-patients. Implicit memory was measured by the effect of prior presentation on ratings of noise volume. Explicit memory was examined via a recognition task. We also investigated participants' confidence in the accuracy of their recognition. OCD patients rated noise accompanying contamination and neutral sentences as louder than did non-patients. Both groups rated noise accompanying contamination sentences as louder than noise accompanying neutral sentences. Also, both groups were less confident in their recognition of new contamination sentences compared to new neutral sentences, bur this difference was less pronounced in the OCD group. The findings are discussed in light of previous research on memory in anxiety disordered individuals. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.