The course of social cognitive and metacognitive ability in depression: Deficit are only partially normalized after full remission of first episode major depression.

Many with first-episode depression experience deficits in social cognition. When first-episode depression remits, social cognition may improve. After remission, first-episode depressed patients may still experience deficits in social cognition. We have yet to determine whether social cognitive deficits existed prior to the onset of depression. Longer-term longitudinal studies of social cognition in depression are needed. Treatment was pharmacological and non-manualized psychotherapy, the effects of which were not controlled for. Sample sizes were modest, which must caution against generalization of the results.