Obsessed not to forget: Lack of retrieval-induced suppression effect in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of executive functions in resolving memory interference in a clinical sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Retrieval of memories has been shown to involve some form of executive act that diminishes the accessib...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2014-08, Vol.218 (1), p.153-160
Main Authors: Demeter, Gyula, Keresztes, Attila, Harsányi, András, Csigó, Katalin, Racsmány, Mihály
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive control
Executive Function
Female
Humans
Inhibition
Interference
Male
Medical sciences
Memory
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
OCD
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Repression, Psychology
Retrieval-induced forgetting
Thinking
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Summary:Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of executive functions in resolving memory interference in a clinical sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Retrieval of memories has been shown to involve some form of executive act that diminishes the accessibility of rival memory traces, leading to retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). These executive control processes might suppress unwanted thoughts and irrelevant memories during competitive retrieval. We assessed RIF with the retrieval practice paradigm among 25 OCD patients and 25 healthy controls matched for age and education. Retrieval of target memories led to enhancement of target memory recall in both groups, but suppression of related memories (RIF) occurred only among controls. Our results suggest that suppression of irrelevant, interfering memories during competitive recall is impaired in OCD.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.04.022