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Updated: May 9, 2026
07:01
Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Cognition in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: consequences may be relative to working memory
Lindsay I Berrigan1, Jo-Anne Lefevre, Laura M Rees
1Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. lberrigan@dal.ca
Summary
In early multiple sclerosis (MS), processing speed deficits do not mediate cognitive issues. However, working memory impairment plays a key mediating role in early relapsing-remitting MS patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- The Relative Consequence Model posits processing speed deficits underlie cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS).
- This model suggests these speed deficits compromise other cognitive functions.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the mediating roles of processing speed and working memory in early MS stages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mediating roles of processing speed and working memory in cognitive function deficits in early relapsing-remitting MS.
- To test the predictions of the Relative Consequence Model in this specific patient group.
Main Methods:
- Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from 70 early relapsing-remitting MS patients and 72 controls.
- Participants completed assessments of processing speed, working memory, learning, and executive functioning.
Main Results:
- Processing speed was not significantly related to group membership and did not mediate cognitive effects in early MS.
- Working memory was significantly related to group membership and acted as a mediating factor for cognitive deficits.
- The findings do not support the Relative Consequence Model for this early MS cohort.
Conclusions:
- Working memory, not processing speed, mediates cognitive impairments in early relapsing-remitting MS patients.
- These findings challenge the idea that working memory deficits only appear in later stages of MS.
- Further research is needed to understand cognitive function relationships across different MS disease stages.
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