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Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
Working memory deficits associated with chronic fatigue syndrome
1Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. bdobbs@ualberta.ca
Summary
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients show working memory deficits, particularly in tasks demanding interference resistance and processing switching. These findings highlight impaired central executive functions in CFS cognitive impairments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Cognitive impairments are common yet understudied in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
- Understanding these deficits is crucial for a comprehensive approach to CFS management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific cognitive functioning, particularly working memory (WM), in patients with CFS.
- To compare the performance of CFS patients with healthy controls on various WM and executive function tasks.
Main Methods:
- 20 CFS patients and 20 healthy controls were assessed.
- Four working memory tests were administered: Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward, Trails A, and Trails B.
- Additional tasks evaluated processing control under temporal demands and sustained attention for interference resistance.
Main Results:
- CFS patients exhibited deficits primarily on more demanding cognitive tasks.
- Impairments were noted in tasks requiring resistance to interference and efficient switching between processing routines.
- Performance on simpler storage capacity tasks (Digit Span Forward) remained comparable to controls.
Conclusions:
- The study implicates deficits in the control aspects of central executive function in chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Cognitive impairments in CFS are specifically related to executive control, not general working memory capacity.
- Further research should focus on the central executive dysfunction in CFS patients.
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