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Controlled processes and automaticity in memory functioning in fibromyalgia patients: relation with emotional
Jacques Grisart1, Martial Van der Linden, Etienne Masquelier
1Service de Medecine Physique et Réadaptation, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. jacques.grisart@pi.be
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|March 26, 2003
Summary
Fibromyalgia (FM) patients show greater deficits in controlled cognitive processes compared to localized pain patients. Unexpectedly, automatic processes are enhanced in FM, suggesting pain
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
Background:
- Chronic pain conditions, particularly fibromyalgia syndrome (FM), are known to consume limited attentional resources.
- This attentional deficit impacts cognitive tasks, affecting controlled processes while preserving automatic ones.
- Fibromyalgia is perceived as more severe, suggesting a potentially greater attentional demand compared to other pain conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential impact of fibromyalgia on controlled versus automatic cognitive processes.
- To compare attentional resource allocation in fibromyalgia patients versus those with localized pain and healthy controls.
- To determine if memory functioning in fibromyalgia is linked to the overall pain condition or specific patient characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Study 1 employed a cued recall task to separately estimate the contributions of controlled and automatic processes.
- Participants included fibromyalgia patients, patients with localized pain, and healthy control subjects.
- Study 2 replicated findings and further explored the relationship between memory and the overall pain condition.
Main Results:
- Fibromyalgia patients exhibited a more pronounced deficit in controlled cognitive processes compared to localized pain patients.
- Contrary to expectations, automatic cognitive processes showed an increased contribution in fibromyalgia patients.
- Memory functioning in fibromyalgia was associated with the overall pain experience, not individual patient factors.
Conclusions:
- Fibromyalgia significantly impacts controlled cognitive processes more than localized pain, likely due to higher attentional demands.
- The unexpected enhancement of automatic processes in fibromyalgia warrants further investigation.
- Cognitive deficits in fibromyalgia are a function of the condition's overall severity rather than specific patient traits.