Exploring the Associations Between Affective and Non-Affective Cognitive Domains in Mood Disorders and Healthy Controls Using Network Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment is a core feature of mood disorders that contributes to reduced functioning and poorer prognosis, thereby emerging as an important treatment target. Persistent trait-related impairments present within both affective and non-affective cognition. Nevertheless, the relationship between affective and non-affective cognitive domains remains unclear, including whether impairments in emotion regulation and facial expression recognition are secondary to deficits in non-affective cognition. Mapping out the hierarchical structure of affective and non-affective cognitive domains may elucidate core cognitive impairments that represent the most relevant treatment targets.

METHODS: Network analysis was employed to explore the associations between affective and non-affective cognitive domains in individuals with mood disorders (N = 380) and healthy controls (HC; N = 225) pooled from two previous studies. Partial correlation networks were constructed separately for individuals with mood disorders and HC comprising measures of non-affective cognition (working memory and executive function, attention and processing speed, verbal learning, and verbal memory) and affective cognition (emotion regulation success, facial expression recognition speed and accuracy).

RESULTS: For both mood disorders and HC, 'working memory and executive function' and 'attention and processing speed' emerged as central cognitive domains. Emotion regulation showed a significantly weaker association with 'working memory and executive function' in mood disorders relative to HC. Additionally, facial expression recognition speed was associated with 'attention and processing speed' across both groups.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that working memory, executive function, attention, and processing speed are core cognitive domains in mood disorders. Further, the weak association between executive function and emotion regulation in mood disorders may indicate a reduced reliance on cognitive control processes during emotion regulation. These findings underscore the importance of targeting both affective and non-affective cognition in pro-cognitive interventions to improve emotion regulation and potentially mitigate the risk of mood episodes.