Dual Cognitive, Motor Tasks More Difficult Even in Early MS Stages

Stuart SchlossmanMultiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Symptoms

 Dual-tasking cognitive and motor problems seen with mild, moderate disease

September 27, 2022

Even in early stages of disease, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly experience more difficulties performing cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously than do people without MS, a new study indicates.

The study, “Cognitive-motor interference in people with mild to moderate multiple sclerosis, in comparison with healthy controls,” was published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.

Cognitive-motor interference, or CMI, refers to a phenomenon where simultaneously performing motor and cognitive tasks — for example, walking while answering trivia questions — is more problematic than either task on its own.

An emerging body of research is exploring how CMI manifests in people with MS and how this affects life quality, especially at more advanced stages of disease. How cognitive-motor interference affects people in earlier MS stages, however, and how this compares to CMI in people without the neurological disorder, remain incompletely understood.

Cognitive problems particularly noted when MS patients walking

Scientists in Sweden conducted CMI assessments on 55 people with MS and 30 without the disease (controls). The MS patients were divided into two groups: 28 with mild MS — defined as a score of 2 to 3.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) — and 27 with moderate MS (EDSS scores of 4 to 5.5).

Participants all underwent two physical tasks: one where they had to stand still with their eyes closed for about 30 seconds, and another where they walked at a comfortable speed for about two minutes. In both tasks, worn sensors were used to detect relevant measures (e.g., swaying in the standing task or stride speed in the walking task).

They also completed a cognitive task in which an auditory tone was played at either high or low pitch. The tone would say the words “high” or “low,” but the word and the actual tone did not always match up. Participants had to say whether the tone itself was high or low, ignoring the word given, and they were scored based on their accuracy and speed.

The participants completed each of these tasks separately (single task). Then, they completed each of the motor tasks again while simultaneously doing the cognitive task (dual task).

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