Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Aug 27:9:685.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00685. eCollection 2018.

A Pilot Study Examining Speed of Processing Training (SPT) to Improve Processing Speed in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

Nancy D Chiaravalloti  1   2 , Yael Goverover  1   3 , Silvana L Costa  1   2 , John DeLuca  1   2   4
Affiliations

A Pilot Study Examining Speed of Processing Training (SPT) to Improve Processing Speed in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

Nancy D Chiaravalloti et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Background: Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have significant impairments in processing speed (PS) and such impairments may underlie other cognitive deficits common in MS and limit performance of everyday life activities. Objective: To examine the efficacy of a computerized PS intervention, Speed of Processing Training (SPT), in persons with MS on PS, memory and everyday activities. Methods: Twenty-one individuals with clinically definite MS and an objectively assessed impairment in PS were included in a controlled randomized clinical trial, randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group. Participants were assessed prior to and within 1 week of completing the treatment. Outcome measures included traditional neuropsychological tests measuring PS and memory, and an assessment of PS in daily life activities. Results: The treatment group showed a significant improvement on neuropsychological tests of PS and new learning and memory. A significant improvement was additionally noted in the treatment group on measures of PS in everyday life. These changes were not observed in the control group. Conclusions: Results provide preliminary data in support of SPT in treating PS deficits in persons with MS. Additional research is needed with larger samples and more comprehensive outcome measures.

Keywords: cognitive functions; cognitive rehabilitation; daily life activities; disease course; multiple sclerosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental overview.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes on the WAIS-III coding subset scaled scores pre to post treatment by group (treatment vs. control; group means plus standard error of the mean).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes on the California Learning Verbal Test II short delay Free Recall (CVLT SDFR) from ore to post treatment by group (treatment vs. control group means plus standard error of the mean).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes on the timed instrumental activities of daily living phonebook task from pre to post treatment (mean seconds to complete task; lower score is better; bars represent standard error of the mean).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Chelune GJ, Stott H, Pinkston J. Multiple Sclerosis. In: Morgan JE, Ricker JH, editors. Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychology. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis; (2008). p. 599-15
    1. Benedict RH, DeLuca J, Phillips G, LaRocca N, Hudson LD, Rudick R, et al. . Validity of the symbol digit modalities test as a cognition performance outcome measure for multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. (2017) 23:721–33. 10.1177/1352458517690821 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Costa SL M, Genova H, DeLuca J, Chiaravalloti ND. Information processing speed in multiple sclerosis: past, present, and future. Mult Scler. (2017) 23:772–89. 10.1177/1352458516645869 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sherman EMS, Strauss E, Spellacy F. Validity of the paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) in adults referred for neuropsychological assessment after head injury. Clin Neuropsychol. (1997) 11:34–45. 10.1080/13854049708407027 - DOI
    1. Chiaravalloti ND, Christodoulou C, Demaree HA, DeLuca J. Differentiating simple versus complex processing speed: influence on new learning and memory performance. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. (2003) 25:489–501. 10.1076/jcen.25.4.489.13878 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources