# Examining Memory Performance in Senior Adults:
###### Abstract  
This study investigates memory performance among 73 adults over 60 years old, utilising Memory Impairment Screening (MIS) and self-reported memory failures assessed by the Memory Failures in Everyday questionnaire (MFE-28). Participants were divided into four groups: individuals with depressive symptoms, healthy individuals, individuals with depressive symptoms and mild cognitive impairment, and individuals with mild cognitive impairment only. Groups were organised according to their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) scores. The study aims to analyse MIS scores and self-reported memory failures across these groups as measured with the 28-item Memory Failures Everyday (MFE-28) scale. Correlation analyses were conducted for the complete sample, while variance analyses were carried out for the four classification groups above. Bivariate linear regression analysis was carried out to explore how the combination of cognitive and depressive symptoms status influenced memory performance. Results show that subjective memory complaints and memory performance are related to depressive symptoms, and the latter is associated with worse cognitive performance. Lastly, our study highlights that individuals with mild cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms exhibit worse performance in recall tasks and report more subjective memory complaints compared to those with mild cognitive impairment alone. a 2024  
Multiple studies evidence how depressive symptomatology contributes to further cognitive impairment [2; 3] and that depression in elders is associated with cognitive deficits and increased risk for cognitive decline [4]. It has been evidenced that patients with depression and mild cognitive impairment show poorer cognitive function than non-depressed patients with mild cognitive impairment in some cognitive domains, and that improvement in depression is related to the improvement or prevention of deterioration in cognitive measures [5]. It is also evident that cognitive function should be taken into consideration in evaluation and treatment, as mental health-related quality of life is significantly impacted not only by the severity of depressive symptoms but also by the cognitive impairment observed in them. Consequently, there has been a notable shift in clinical research toward including cognitive improvements as primary endpoints for future trials [6]. Subjective memory complaints and performance, and their relationship with depressive symptoms have also been extensively studied. A study carried out with 63 individuals aged between 61 and 86 years (38 women and 25 men) who reported memory concerns [7] showed that subjects diagnosed with medical depression (MDD) had the most memory complaints, whereas the worst objective memory performance was experienced by subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The level of awareness in relation to memory performance was a discriminating indicator between MDD and MCI (\(p<0.05\)) but not between MDD and clinical controls (\(p>0.05\)). MDD subjects tended to underestimate their memory functioning as compared to controls (\(p<0.05\)). On the other hand, a longitudinal analysis from the Berlin Ageing Study showed that there is little evidence for links between memory complaints and memory performance in very old age [8]. Another study [9] evidenced a consistent relationship between how people perceived their memory capabilities, their actual memory performance, and their level of depressive symptoms. When looking at individual changes over time, occasions where someone performed better on memory tests or reported fewer depressive symptoms than usual were associated with higher subjective memory ratings. This suggests that people tend to rate their memory abilities higher when they are feeling better mentally and when their memory performance is better.