AUTHOR=McIntyre Roger S. , Subramaniapillai Mehala , Park Caroline , Zuckerman Hannah , Cao Bing , Lee Yena , Iacobucci Michelle , Nasri Flora , Fus Dominika , Bowie Christopher R. , Tran Tanya , Rosenblat Joshua D. , Mansur Rodrigo B. 

TITLE=The THINC-it Tool for Cognitive Assessment and Measurement in Major Depressive Disorder: Sensitivity to Change

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00546

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00546

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Herein, we sought to determine the sensitivity to change in cognitive function, as measured by the THINC-it tool, in a sample of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) receiving standardized antidepressant therapy.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Adults meeting the DSM-5 criteria for MDD with at least moderate depressive symptom severity [<italic>i.e.</italic>, Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score ≥ 20] were treated with open-label vortioxetine (10–20 mg/day, flexibly-dosed) for 8 weeks. The previously validated THINC-it tool was the primary dependent measure. The THINC-it tool was validated against the paper and pencil version of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Trails Making Test B (TMTB).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>After 8 weeks of treatment, adults with MDD exhibited improvement in cognitive function relative to healthy controls (<italic>e.g.</italic>, processing speed) (p = 0.031). A subdomain measure of working memory (<italic>i.e.</italic>, symbol check; SC) exhibited significant improvement at Weeks 2 and 8 in latency (p = 0.032), SC accuracy (p = 0.046), and objective z-score (p = 0.001) independent of depressive symptoms. A linear regression analysis determined that the THINC-it tool measures of processing speed, as well as executive function were significantly associated with changes observed on the pencil and paper version the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) (p = 0.002) and in Trails Making Test B (TMTB) (p = 0.003), respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The THINC-it tool demonstrates sensitivity to change in adults with MDD and is highly correlated with improvements on pencil and paper versions of DSST and TMTB.</p></sec><sec><title>Clinical Trial Registration</title><p>ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03053362.</p></sec>