Object decision and multiple sclerosis: a preliminary study

The aim of this research was to study cognitive dysfunctions in multiple sclerosis (MS) by exploring subtle cognitive tasks, usually not included in the standard neuropsychological assessment. We wished to investigate whether it is possible to identify object decision deficits in MS patients without evident cognitive impairment; secondary objectives were to understand whether these deficits can be detected in the early stages of the disease and whether there are differences related to different phenotypes. Participants were divided into four groups: (a) 12 patients with early relapsing-remitting MS [ERR]; (b) 14 with late relapsing-remitting MS [LRR]; (c) 10 with secondary progressive MS [SP]; (d) 36 healthy controls [HCs]. All participants performed a series of experimental tasks: an object decision task (recognition of chimeric and real figures) and naming and visual discrimination tasks. Our results suggest that object decision disorders are detectable in patients without overt cognitive impairments and that performances on these tasks are related to phenotypes. On the other hand, the Chimeric Figures task is not appropriate for identifying cognitive dysfunctions in early MS.