Abstract

Introduction: Alterations in executive functioning are frequent in depressed patients, being common the appearance of planning difficulties.

Method: This study aimed to compare the performance of a sample of 40 non-psychotic unipolar depressed patients (26 women and 14 men, with a mean age of 44.15 years old [SD = 13.82]) with 40 healthy controls (24 women and 16 men, with a mean age of 42.05 years old [SD = 15.19]) using a computerized version of the Tower of London (TOL) task.

Results: Significant differences regarding extra moves and execution time between groups were found, with healthy controls outperforming depressed patients, who took significantly longer to complete the task. The variable age influenced clearly the results, showing a shared variance of 55% for both groups.

Conclusions: The results allowed us to identify differences in performance between both groups, therefore this version of the TOL revealed itself as a reliable alternative to assess planning, accessible to all clinicians.

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