Investigation of comparative nonword repetition performance in multiple sclerosis: Group differences, subtype...

This study investigated Nonword Repetition (NWR) tasks in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) compared to healthy controls (HC), focusing on phonological working memory (WM_P). Significant differences were found in NWR acurracy (NWR_acc) score between MS subgroups and HC (H = 48.2, p < 0.001). NWR_acc decreased as the number of syllables increased in both groups, indicating increased cognitive load. All MS subtypes showed lower NWR_acc compared to HC across varying syllable lengths (Mann Whitney U Test: two syllables U = 64.5, p < 0.001; three syllables U = 183, p < 0.001; four syllables U = 248, p < 0.001; five syllables U = 283.5, p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were found within MS subtypes based on syllable length. NWR_acc did not differ between mild and severe MS groups. Overall, the NWR test effectively assessed WM_P in MS, highlighting its utility in diagnosing and addressing language-cognitive challenges in individuals with MS. This underscores the importance of tailored intervention strategies to mitigate these challenges.