Memory Functioning and Emotional Changes in Early Phase Multiple Sclerosis

Memory functioning and emotional changes were evaluated in 26 early phase multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, as compared with 24 healthy controls. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to age, education, verbal intelligence, or general visual information processing abilities. The MS group performed significantly below controls on the recognition of nonsense visual stimuli. On most verbal memory test indicators, the MS group did not perform deficiently, but there emerged a between-group difference at trend level on a measure reflecting sensitivity to proactive inhibition. The MS patients reported emotional changes and increased levels of psychological symptoms in several areas. Memory task performance was not significantly correlated with subjective complaints of memory impairment, depressive symptoms, or degree of physical disability. However, subjective complaints of memory impairment were related to depression.