Archibald C J, Fisk J D
archibc.cadvision.com
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2000 Oct;22(5):686-701. doi: 10.1076/1380-3395(200010)22:5;1-9;FT686.
Reduced information processing efficiency, consequent to impaired neural transmission, has been proposed as underlying various cognitive problems in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This study employed two measures developed from experimental psychology that control for the potential confound of perceptual-motor abnormalities (Salthouse, Babcock, & Shaw, 1991; Sternberg, 1966, 1969) to assess the speed of information processing and working memory capacity in patients with mild to moderate MS. Although patients had significantly more cognitive complaints than neurologically intact matched controls, their performance on standard tests of immediate memory span did not differ from control participants and their word list learning was within normal limits. On the experimental measures, both relapsing-remitting and secondary-progressive patients exhibited significantly slowed information processing speed relative to controls. However, only the secondary-progressive patients had an additional decrement in working memory capacity. Depression, fatigue, or neurologic disability did not account for performance differences on these measures. While speed of information processing may be slowed early in the disease process, deficits in working memory capacity may appear only as there is progression of MS. It is these latter deficits, however, that may underlie the impairment of new learning that patients with MS demonstrate.
神经传递受损导致的信息处理效率降低，被认为是多发性硬化症（MS）患者各种认知问题的潜在原因。本研究采用了两项源自实验心理学的测量方法，这些方法控制了感知运动异常的潜在混杂因素（Salthouse、Babcock和Shaw，1991年；Sternberg，1966年、1969年），以评估轻度至中度MS患者的信息处理速度和工作记忆容量。尽管患者的认知主诉明显多于神经功能正常的匹配对照组，但他们在即时记忆广度标准测试中的表现与对照组参与者并无差异，且他们的单词列表学习在正常范围内。在实验测量中，复发缓解型和继发进展型患者相对于对照组均表现出明显减慢的信息处理速度。然而，只有继发进展型患者的工作记忆容量有额外下降。抑郁、疲劳或神经功能障碍并不能解释这些测量中的表现差异。虽然信息处理速度可能在疾病过程早期就会减慢，但工作记忆容量的缺陷可能只有在MS进展时才会出现。然而，正是这些后者的缺陷可能是MS患者表现出的新学习受损的基础。
