Validity of the California Verbal Learning Test-II in multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system where roughly 50% of patients exhibit cognitive impairment. Episodic memory defects are particularly common in MS and the California Verbal Learning Test: 2nd Edition (CVLT-II) was recommended for assessment in MS in a recently published consensus position paper. We investigated the validity of the CVLT-II in 351 MS patients and 69 demographically matched normal controls. MS patients performed significantly more poorly on 18 of the 23 measures examined. In addition to a general memory factor, factor analysis revealed five distinct factors conforming to measures of consolidation, primary/recency effect, proactive interference, and learning asymptote. The external validity of the CVLT-II was also supported by logistic regression analysis, which separated employed from work-disabled MS patients. We conclude that the CVLT-II is a valid test in MS and provides a rich constellation of verbal memory measures.
Stegen
Shane
S
Department of Neurology, State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Stepanov
Igor
I
Cookfair
Diane
D
Schwartz
Eben
E
Hojnacki
David
D
Weinstock-Guttman
Bianca
B
Benedict
Ralph H B
RH
D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult