Cognitive improvement associated with tricyclic antidepressant treatment of childhood major depressive illness.

11 children fulfilling DSM-III criteria for major depressive illness were administered detailed neuropsychological batteries prior to and 3 to 6 mo. after starting tricyclic antidepressant treatment. Remission of depressive illness in children with melancholic major depression was associated with significant improvement in WISC-R Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, and on the Similarities, Comprehension, Block Design, and Coding subtests. In addition, there were significant improvements on the Halstead Categories test, on the Visual Reception subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, and in response latencies on the Matching Familiar Figures test. Two children with evidence of mild left hemiparesis showed amelioration of hemiparesis during tricyclic antidepressant treatment.