Attention network dysfunction and treatment response of geriatric depression

The Attention Network Test was used to assess the efficiency of the executive, orienting and vigilance attention networks and their association to treatment response in older patients with major depression. There were no significant performance differences between depressives and controls. However, within the depressed group, executive-related performance, but not orienting- or vigilance-related performance was correlated with time to remission. The association of executive-attention network efficiency and antidepressant response provides the background for focused structural and functional neuroimaging studies aimed at identifying the functional neuroanatomy of antidepressant response.