Multiple memory deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis. Exploring the working memory system.
Some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) demonstrate impaired memory. A group of 16 patients with MS who were mildly to moderately affected (Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale Score = 3.8) were studied, and they were compared with a matched control group on tests of "working memory." The working memory system was explored by evaluating the amount of information that can temporarily be held in a buffer system during encoding. Results indicated that patients with MS have difficulty in processing information at the level of a hypothesized articulatory loop in working memory. This deficit was correlated with their retrieval of verbal information from long-term memory, as well as how accurately they processed verbal information presented at a rapid rate. There was no significant relationship between ratings of MS severity or number of plaques visualized on magnetic resonance imaging scans and the degree of working memory deficit.
Litvan
I
I
Experimental Therapeutics Branch, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Grafman
J
J
Vendrell
P
P
Martinez
J M
JM
Junqué
C
C
Vendrell
J M
JM
Barraquer-Bordas
J L
JL
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D011581:Psychological Tests