Costa SL, Genova HM, DeLuca J, Chiaravalloti ND. Information processing speed in multiple sclerosis: Past, present, and future.
Mult Scler 2016;
23:772-789. [PMID:
27207446 DOI:
10.1177/1352458516645869]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Information processing speed (IPS) is a prevalent cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS).
OBJECTIVES
This review aims to summarize the methods applied to assess IPS in MS and its theoretical conceptualization. A PubMed search was performed to select articles published between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013, resulting in 157 articles included.
RESULTS
The majority (54%) of studies assessed IPS with heterogeneous samples (several disease courses). Studies often report controlling for presence of other neurological disorders (60.5%), age (58.6%), education (51.6%), alcohol history (47.8%), or use of steroids (39.5%). Potential confounding variables, such as recent relapses (50.3%), history of developmental disorders (19.1%), and visual problems (29.9%), were often neglected. Assessments used to study IPS were heterogeneous (ranging from simple to complex tasks) among the studies under review, with 62 different tasks used. Only 9.6% of articles defined the construct of IPS and 22.3% discussed IPS in relation to a theoretical model.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The challenges for the upcoming decade include clarification of the definition of IPS as well as its theoretical conceptualization and a consensus on assessment. Based on the results obtained, we propose a new theoretical model, the tri-factor model of IPS.
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