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Published on: May 12, 2019
Patterns of abnormal visual attention in myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Claire V Hutchinson1, Stephen P Badham
1College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. ch190@le.ac.uk
Summary
People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) experience visual attention deficits. This study provides experimental evidence supporting these difficulties, potentially aiding in ME/CFS diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex multisystem disease.
- Patients frequently report cognitive difficulties, including issues with attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate visual attention impairments in individuals diagnosed with ME/CFS.
- To provide objective evidence for subjective reports of attention deficits in ME/CFS.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 29 ME/CFS patients and 29 healthy controls participated.
- Visual attention was assessed using the Useful Field of View (UFOV), a spatial cueing task, and visual search paradigms.
Main Results:
- ME/CFS patients showed similar performance to controls on processing speed but poorer performance on divided and selective attention subtests of the UFOV.
- Patients were slower to respond to targets in the spatial cueing task, especially with invalid cues.
- Impaired performance was observed in ME/CFS patients on visual search tasks compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- This study offers experimental validation for visual attention difficulties experienced by individuals with ME/CFS.
- These findings corroborate patient-reported symptoms and suggest attention deficits as a potential diagnostic biomarker for ME/CFS.
