Episodic memory deficits are associated with social cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND/

OBJECTIVES

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with cognitive impairments affecting attention, processing speed, executive functions, and episodic memory. Social cognition (SC), encompassing emotional processing and theory of mind (ToM), is also impaired in MS. However, its relationship with common cognitive functioning is not well defined. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between social and non-social cognitive impairments, focusing on episodic memory, executive functions, and information processing speed in people with MS.

METHODS

We assessed 58 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 30 healthy controls using neuropsychological and SC tests to explore these associations.

RESULTS

MS patients showed significant deficits in emotional recognition and ToM, which correlated strongly with episodic memory performance but showed weak correlations with executive functions and not with processing speed. Multivariate analyses indicated that episodic memory accounted for a significant portion of the variance in emotional processing and ToM abilities.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that episodic memory deficits represent an important cognitive correlate of SC in MS, underscoring the need to consider memory function in understanding and addressing SC difficulties in this population.

CLINICAL TRIALS: Clinical Trails gov ID NCT02708927) This study received approval from the ethics committee (Comité de Protection des Personnes [CPP] Sud-Ouest et Outre-Mer III) (ID-RCB: 2015-A01282-47).