title: Does process-specific slowing account for cognitive deficits in Lyme disease?
abstract: Although several studies have suggested that cognitive slowing is a symptom in Lyme disease, it is not clear whether this slowing is general or relates to specific cognitive tasks. This study examined cognitive speed in 25 Lyme disease patients using a mental arithmetic task. These patients showed significant impairments when initiating the cognitive processes involved in counting, but performed as well as healthy participants (n = 23) when the number of counting increments increased. Lyme patients also performed a speeded perceptual-motor matching task as well as healthy participants. Lyme-related initiation speed deficits were significantly correlated with performance on standardized neuropsychological tests, including the Trail Making Test and the Digit Symbol Test, but not with self-reported depression. These results suggest that the cognitive deficits seen on speeded tasks are process specific in the Lyme patient group, and are not the result of generalized slowing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Stony Brook 11794-8121, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pollina
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Elkins
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Squires
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Scheffer
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Krupp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors