Fatigue-related diurnal variations of cognitive performance in multiple sclerosis and stroke patients.
OBJECTIVE
Cognitive impairment is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study aimed to assess fatigue-related diurnal variations of cognitive performance in MS patients.


METHODS
Subjective cognitive fatigue and cognitive performance in three reaction time tasks differing in cognitive demands (alertness, Go/NoGo, divided attention) was measured at three different times of day on two consecutive days for MS patients, stroke patients, and healthy control participants.


RESULTS
Objective measures of cognitive performance revealed poorer performance for both groups of patients than for controls. A diurnal decline of cognitive performance was only observed for the two groups of patients but not for healthy controls. This decline corresponded to the patients' subjective reports of increasing cognitive fatigue during the day.


CONCLUSIONS
Cognitive fatigue in both MS and stroke patients is not only reflected in subjective ratings but also affects objectively measured performance in cognitive tasks.
Kliniken Schmieder Konstanz and Lurija Institute for Rehabilitation Research and Health, Sciences at the University of Konstanz, Germany.
Dolores
D
Claros-Salinas
Daniel
D
Bratzke
Georg
G
Greitemann
Nancy
N
Nickisch
Lisa
L
Ochs
Hannes
H
Schröter
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000209:etiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult