Fatigue and its relation to general cognition, social cognition and social activity in multiple sclerosis and stroke

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The relationship between fatigue and (socio-)cognitive deficits in neurological diseases has sparked increasing research interest in the past years. So far, findings are inconsistent. Most studies focused on general cognitive functioning in specific disorders, particularly cancer or multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods

This study aims to examine the relationship between fatigue, social cognition and social activity, also taking into account general cognition, more closely, including a stroke patient group (n = 57), a MS patient group (n = 31) and a healthy control group (n = 20). The participants underwent a comprehensive (socio-)cognitive test battery and completed questionnaires on fatigue and psychopathology which, in addition to fatigue, can also affect (socio-)cognitive performance.

Results

In both MS and stroke patients high fatigue scores were observed. Irrespective of aetiology, patients with high and low fatigue did not differ with regard to general cognition and social cognition. However, high fatigue scores were associated with a reduction of social activities in both patient groups. No other significant relationships were observed between fatigue and (socio-)cognitive measures.

Conclusions

Future studies ought to further explore the potentially complex nature of fatigue symptoms and their relationship with (socio-)cognitive performance and social activity in neurological populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Fatigue
• social cognition
• general cognition
• multiple sclerosis
• stroke

Acknowledgements

We thank Stefani Wissing, Emily Eckhardt, Lara Kayser and Felicitas Kern for help with participant recruitment and partly also assessment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, TL, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funds of the Ruhr University Bochum designed to support research activities of young investigators (12th call) awarded to PT and Tobias Lohaus was funded by the German Insurance Agency (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, Grant Number FR 296).

Notes on contributors

Tobias Lohaus

Tobias Lohaus, PhD student in clinical neuropsychology, conducts research on social cognition deficits and its treatment. Most recently, he published a review article on computerized interventions for social cognition deficits: Use of Technologies in the Therapy of Social Cognition Deficits in Neurological and Mental Diseases: A Systematic Review (Lohaus et al., 2022).

Judith Witt

Judith Witt, Master of Science psychologist, is working as a neuropsychologist in a neurological clinic.

Anne Schürmeyer

Anne Schürmeyer, clinical neuropsychologist as well as licensed psychological psychotherapist, works in her own practice for Neuropsychology and Psychotherapy located in Bochum, Germany.

Oliver T. Wolf

Oliver T. Wolf, full professor of Cognitive Psychology at Ruhr University Bochum. His research addresses the impact of acute and chronic stress on human cognition with a special focus on learning, extinction, and memory. He contributed multiple original research papers as well as reviews. Some examples are How stress hormones shape memories of fear and anxiety (Merz & Wolf, 2022) and Effects of cortisol on cognition in major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder (Wingenfeld & Wolf, 2015).

Patrizia Thoma

Patrizia Thoma, adjunct professor, is a licensed psychotherapist and clinical neuropsychologist and co-head of the Neuropsychological Therapy Center in Bochum, Germany. Her main research interest is social cognition in patients with mental disorders and neurological diseases, among her recent publications is a review paper on brain cancer patients: Sociocognitive functioning and psychosocial burden in patients with brain tumors (Pertz et al., 2022) and a book on the Neuropsychology of schizophrenia (Thoma, 2022).