Autobiographical memory style and clinical outcomes following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): An individual patient data meta-analysis.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) improves autobiographical memory specificity and whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response in depression.
Results Summary
The study found no significant improvement in memory specificity following MBCT compared to control interventions, and baseline memory specificity did not predict treatment response in terms of symptom levels or relapse risk.
Population
Patients with depression, primarily for relapse prevention.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) | no change | memory specificity | patients with depression | no significant change | did not significantly differ | #1 |
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) | no change | memory specificity | patients with depression | no significant change | did not significantly differ | #2 |
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) | no change | treatment response in terms of symptom-levels | patients with depression | no evidence | no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted | #3 |
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) | no change | risk of relapse | patients with depression | no evidence | no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted | #4 |
The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent methodological advances in individual patient data meta-analysis to determine a) whether memory specificity is improved following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), relative to control interventions, and b) whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response. All bar one study evaluated MBCT for relapse prevention for depression. Our initial analysis therefore focussed on MBCT datasets only(n = 708), then were repeated including the additional dataset(n = 880). Memory specificity did not significantly differ from baseline to post-treatment for either MBCT and Control interventions. There was no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted treatment response in terms of symptom-levels, or risk of relapse. Findings raise important questions regarding the role of memory specificity in depressive treatments.