Recall bias in reporting medically unexplained symptoms comes from semantic memory

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Medical Sociology

Background:

• Retrospective symptom reporting relies on memory, which can be influenced by semantic memory and general beliefs about illness.
• Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) present a unique challenge in understanding patient recall and reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate recall biases in individuals with MUS compared to those without.
• To examine how the time interval between symptom experience and reporting affects recall bias in MUS patients.

Main Methods:

• 37 participants, categorized as high or low on MUS, used electronic diaries to record momentary symptoms.
• Daily and weekly recall methods were employed to compare symptom reporting over different time frames.

Main Results:

• Both groups reported more symptoms during weekly recall than daily recall, exceeding momentary reports.
• Participants with high MUS reported significantly more symptoms in weekly recall compared to daily recall.
• Recall bias in the high MUS group was not correlated with peak heuristic or symptom variability.

Conclusions:

• Symptom reporting in individuals with high MUS increases with longer recall periods.
• This suggests a shift in memory retrieval strategy from episodic to semantic memory in MUS patients over time.
• Understanding these memory biases is crucial for accurate assessment and management of MUS.