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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
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Eye-Tracking Control to Assess Cognitive Functions in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: October 13, 2016
Neuropsychological changes in patients with primary lateral sclerosis
Ambre Piquard1, Nadine Le Forestier, Véronique Baudoin-Madec
1Fédération des Maladies du Système Nerveux, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris. piquard.ambre@hotmail.fr
Summary
Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) patients exhibit memory deficits and frontal lobe dysfunction, similar to ALS. Cognitive impairment in PLS suggests executive dysfunction, but disease progression remains unclear.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
Background:
- Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a rare neurological disorder.
- The neuropsychological changes associated with PLS are not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the neuropsychological profile of PLS patients.
- To compare cognitive functions in PLS patients to matched controls.
- To explore executive functions and premotor cortex functions in PLS.
Main Methods:
- Studied 20 patients diagnosed with PLS.
- Conducted extensive psychometric testing, including general cognitive assessments (memory, language, attention, etc.).
- Performed specific assessments of prefrontal and premotor cortex functions.
Main Results:
- No PLS patients showed signs of dementia.
- All PLS patients presented memory deficits indicative of executive dysfunction.
- A majority of PLS patients (17/20) displayed signs of premotor and/or prefrontal cortex deficits.
- Cognitive impairment in PLS appears qualitatively similar to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), suggesting frontal lobe dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive impairment in PLS is linked to frontal lobe dysfunction.
- The study suggests a patchy distribution of cortical involvement in PLS.
- Further research is needed to determine the spatio-temporal progression of frontal lobe involvement in PLS.
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