A preliminary study of the association between changes in mood and cognition in a mixed geriatric psychiatry sample

The relationship between measures of mood state and cognitive function was investigated in a sample of geriatric psychiatry inpatients. All were admitted to an urban hospital with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Patients with diminishing negative affects and depressive symptoms during the course of hospitalisation improved significantly on three cognitive tests, and half of the group members were no longer impaired according to their performance on a mental status Exam. Correlations between cognition and mood-scale change scores were significant on tests emphasizing spatial processing and learning. Although the effects were modest in this heterogenous sample, the data demonstrate a significant, influence of changing mood state on neuropsychological test performance.