Major depressive disorder (MDD) is recognized worldwide as a major cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality. According to the World Health Organization, unipolar depressive disorders affect more than 150 million people around the world and represent the leading cause of years lost due to disability among both men and women. In the United States alone, nearly 8 percent of persons over the age of 12 report current depression. MDD has long been defined primarily as a mood disorder. However, more recently people have begun to recognize effects on cognition as a major contributor to the disablement that accompanies depression and to consider this an underrecognized treatment target for depression.

To explore how best to enable the discovery, development, and translation of treatments for cognitive dysfunction in depression, including a focus on the regulatory path forward, the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous Disorders convened key stakeholders at a workshop in February 2015. This report summarizes the presentations from expert speakers and discussions among workshop participants.