scholarly journals Visual-Attentional Load Unveils Slowed Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Pilot Study with a Tablet-Based Videogame

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 871
Author(s):  
Marco Pitteri ◽  
Caterina Dapor ◽  
Stefano Ziccardi ◽  
Maddalena Guandalini ◽  
Riccardo Meggiato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Attentional Load ◽  
Paper And Pencil ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽  
Classic Paper

Slowing in information processing speed (IPS) is the key cognitive deficit in multiple sclerosis (MS). Testing IPS in different cognitive load conditions by using computerized tools might reveal initial IPS slowness underestimated by classic paper-and-pencil tests. To investigate the extent to which IPS can be affected by increased task demands, we developed three tasks based on the manipulation of the visual-attentional load, delivered with a home-made, tablet-based videogame. Fifty-one patients with MS (pwMS), classified as having no cognitive impairment in classic paper-and-pencil tests, and 20 healthy controls (HC) underwent the videogame tasks; reaction times (RTs) and accuracy were recorded. A significant reduced performance of pwMS as compared with HC was found on the videogame tasks, with pwMS being on average slower and less accurate than HC. Furthermore, pwMS showed a significantly more pronounced decrement in accuracy as a function of the visual-attentional load, suggesting a higher susceptibility to increased task demands. Significant correlations among the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the videogame mean RTs and accuracy were found, providing evidence for the concurrent validity of the videogame as a valid tool to test IPS in pwMS. The high potential that might derive from the adoption of computerized assessment tools in clinical practice should be taken into consideration and investigated further.

Cognitive reserve moderates decline in information processing speed in multiple sclerosis patients

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 829-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
RALPH H.B. BENEDICT ◽  
SARAH A. MORROW ◽  
BIANCA WEINSTOCK GUTTMAN ◽  
DIANE COOKFAIR ◽  
DAVID J. SCHRETLEN
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
The North ◽  
Premorbid Intelligence ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients

AbstractCognitive reserve is widely recognized as a moderator of cognitive decline in patients with senile dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. The same effect may occur in multiple sclerosis (MS), an immunologic disorder affecting the central nervous system. While MS is traditionally considered an inflammatory, white matter disease, degeneration of gray matter is increasingly recognized as the primary contributor to progressive cognitive decline. Our aim was to determine if individual differences in estimated cognitive reserve protect against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. Ninety-one patients assessed twice roughly 5 years apart were identified retrospectively. Cognitive testing emphasized mental processing speed. Cognitive reserve was estimated by years of education and by performance on the North American Adult Reading Test (NAART). After controlling for baseline characteristics, both years of education (p = .013) and NAART scores (p = .049) significantly improved regression models predicting cognitive decline. Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) performance showed no significant change in patients with > 14 years of education, whereas it declined significantly in patients with ≤ 14 years of education. We conclude that greater cognitive reserve as indexed by either higher premorbid intelligence or more years of education protects against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. (JINS, 2010, 16, 829–835.)

scholarly journals Information Processing Speed Assessed with Letter Digit Substitution Test in Croatian Sample of Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Diagnostics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Ana Jerković ◽  
Meri Matijaca ◽  
Ana Proroković ◽  
Anđela Šikić ◽  
Vana Košta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Medication Therapy ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽  
The Impact

Cognitive impairment is a common complaint in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). The study objective was to determine the psychometric properties of the letter digit substitution test (LDST) that measures information processing speed and to investigate the impact of relevant predictors of LDST achievement in pwMS. The design was cross-sectional. The study included 87 pwMS and 154 control subjects. The validity of LDST was examined, and a hierarchical regression model was used to explore relevant predictors of LDST success. The LDST had excellent construct validity, as expressed by differences between pwMS and control subjects. Convergent validity of the LDST was supported by a significant moderate correlation with the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) (ρ = −0.36; p < 0.05) and a significantly strong correlation with the multiple sclerosis impact scale (MSIS-29) physical subscale (r = −0.64; p < 0.01). The LDTS score well differentiated the pwMS considering age, education, EDSS, disease duration, comorbidity, and medication therapy. Using the LDST as a criterion variable in pwMS results showed consistent evidence for the age, education, and EDSS impact on LDST performance. The best cut-off score of ≤35 discriminated the control and MS group. LDST proved to be a valid test for assessing information processing speed in pwMS.

Executive functioning in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients without cognitive impairment: A task-switching protocol

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1328-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Migliore ◽  
Giuseppe Curcio ◽  
Alessandro Couyoumdjian ◽  
Anna Ghazaryan ◽  
Doriana Landi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Relapsing Remitting ◽  
Remitting Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽  
Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Cognitive dysfunction affects 40%–65% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, most often affecting information processing speed and working memory, mediated by the pre-frontal cortex (PFC). Objective: Our study aimed to investigate PFC functioning through a task-switching protocol in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients without cognitive impairment. Methods: A total of 24 RRMS patients and 25 controls were enrolled. Two different tasks were performed in rapid and random succession, so that the task was either changed from one trial to the next one (switch trials) or repeated (repetition trials). Switch trials are usually slower than repetitions, causing a so-called switch cost (SC). Results: Patients had worse performance than controls only in the switch trials, as indicated by increased SC and reaction times. Moreover, patients showed a reduced ability to reconfigure the task-set for the execution of a new task and to disengage from the previous one. Conclusion: Our results showed a primary deficit in executive control processes involved in the task-switching performance in RRMS patients without cognitive impairment. This deficit may depend on the functional impairment of the PFC, which is essential to adjust behaviour rapidly and flexibly in response to environmental changes, representing one of the most sophisticated human abilities.

A Videogame-Based Approach to Measuring Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Marco Pitteri ◽  
Caterina Dapor ◽  
Stefano Ziccardi ◽  
Maddalena Guandalini ◽  
Riccardo Meggiato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients

scholarly journals Dalfampridine improves slowed processing speed in multiple sclerosis patients with mild motor disability: post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175628642110112
Author(s):  
Carlo Pozzilli ◽  
Luca Prosperini ◽  
Silvia Tommasin ◽  
Claudio Gasperini ◽  
Elena Barbuti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Motor Disability ◽  
Post Hoc Analysis ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽  
Post Hoc

Objective: To evaluate baseline characteristics predictive of improving information processing speed in multiple sclerosis (MS) and the relationship between cognitive and motor response to dalfampridine (DA) treatment. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with MS randomized to receive DA 10 mg or placebo twice daily for 12 consecutive weeks. Here, we include only data from 71 patients in the arm treated with DA. According to the median value of Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) response, patients were categorized as “full responders” (FR) or “partially responders” (PR). Results: There was higher possibility of being FR in the presence of a baseline lower Expanded Disability Status Scale [odds ratio (OR) 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5–0.97, p = 0.034], a higher Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite value (OR 1.37; 95%CI 1.05–1.8, p = 0.022), a lower Timed 25-Foot Walk Test (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.6–0.98, p = 0.033), and a lower 9-Hole Peg Test with dominant hand (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.86–0.99, p = 0.029). FR group did not show any significant improvement of motor performance compared with PR group. Conclusion: The current analysis shows that in MS patients with cognitive deficit, the greatest improvement in SDMT provided by DA was observed in patients with milder motor impairment; cognitive and motor responses to treatments are not related. Trial registration: EU Clinical Trials Register; ID 2013-002558-64 ( https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=2013-002558-64 )

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