Neurocognitive functioning in patients with conversion disorder/functional neurological disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Neurocognitive symptoms are prevalent in Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders (SSRD).
• Specific neurocognitive impairments in Conversion Disorder (CD)/Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) remain understudied.
• Understanding these deficits is crucial for effective patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare neurocognitive functioning in patients diagnosed with CD/FND versus other SSRD.
• To identify specific neurocognitive domains affected in CD/FND.
• To elucidate the clinical significance of these neurocognitive differences.

Main Methods:

• A neuropsychological test battery was administered to 318 patients (29 with CD/FND, 289 with other SSRD).
• The battery assessed information processing speed, attention, and executive functioning.
• Statistical analyses compared performance between the CD/FND group and the other SSRD group.

Main Results:

• Patients with CD/FND demonstrated clinically significant neurocognitive deficits across all assessed domains compared to normative data.
• The CD/FND group performed significantly worse on information processing speed tests (Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Stroop Color-Word Test) than the other SSRD group.
• No significant differences in other neurocognitive domains (attention, executive functioning) were found between the CD/FND and other SSRD groups.

Conclusions:

• Patients with CD/FND exhibit pronounced deficits in information processing speed compared to individuals with other SSRD.
• These findings underscore the importance of assessing and addressing information processing speed in CD/FND.
• Further research should explore the underlying mechanisms and potential interventions for these specific neurocognitive impairments.