Fareshte Erani1, Joshua McKeever1,2, John D Medaglia1,3, Maria T Schultheis1. 1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2. Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA. 3. Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We examined whether fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) is linked to switching processes when switching is measured by the Trail Making Test (TMT). METHOD: Eighty-three participants with MS were administered a battery of standardized tests of switching, working memory, and processing speed. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to estimate the association between fatigue severity and switching above and beyond attention, working memory, and processing speed. RESULTS: We found a negative association between TMT performance and fatigue severity score. When measures of processing speed and working memory were included in the model, the switching measure continued to uniquely contribute to fatigue severity. CONCLUSIONS: There may be a unique relationship between fatigue and switching processes identifiable by clinical measures of switching. Future research should continue to investigate this relationship by using both behavioral and neural markers to test models of fatigue to eventually identify specific intervention targets.
OBJECTIVE: We examined whether fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) is linked to switching processes when switching is measured by the Trail Making Test (TMT). METHOD: Eighty-three participants with MS were administered a battery of standardized tests of switching, working memory, and processing speed. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to estimate the association between fatigue severity and switching above and beyond attention, working memory, and processing speed. RESULTS: We found a negative association between TMT performance and fatigue severity score. When measures of processing speed and working memory were included in the model, the switching measure continued to uniquely contribute to fatigue severity. CONCLUSIONS: There may be a unique relationship between fatigue and switching processes identifiable by clinical measures of switching. Future research should continue to investigate this relationship by using both behavioral and neural markers to test models of fatigue to eventually identify specific intervention targets.
Authors: I Sánchez-Cubillo; J A Periáñez; D Adrover-Roig; J M Rodríguez-Sánchez; M Ríos-Lago; J Tirapu; F Barceló Journal: J Int Neuropsychol Soc Date: 2009-05 Impact factor: 2.892
Authors: J H Vercoulen; E Bazelmans; C M Swanink; J M Galama; J F Fennis; J W van der Meer; G Bleijenberg Journal: J Clin Exp Neuropsychol Date: 1998-04 Impact factor: 2.475