Personality traits related to cognitive functioning in patients with functional neurological disorder

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic variables of a sample (N = 23) of patients with FND.

Variable	M ± SD or n (%)
Age (years)	41.5 ± 14.14
Sex
Female	19 (82.6)
Education level
Low (Verhage 1–4)	9 (39,0)
Middle (Verhage 5)	11 (47.8)
High (Verhage 6–7)	3 (13.0)
Work status
Part-time	1 (4.3)
Unemployed	6 (26.1)
Cannot work due to physical complaints	12 (52.2)
Studying	1 (4.3)
Different/Unknown	3 (13.0)
Marital status
Married/Registered partnership	10 (43.5)
Partner/Living together	6 (26.0%)
Single	5 (21.7)
Divorced/Widower	1 (4.3)
Living with parents	1 (4.3)
FND phenotype
Sensory disturbance	2 (8.7)
Blackouts (look-alike seizures or faints)	9 (39.1)
Movement disorder	1 (4.3)
Limb weakness or paralysis	5 (21.7)
Speech symptoms	1 (4.3)
Dizziness and balance problems	1 (4.3)
Mixed	4 (17.4)

Figure 1. Histograms for the neurocognitive test scores from patients with FND (N = 23).

Table 2. Distribution of personality, alexithymia, and cognitive test scores in a sample (N = 23) of patients with FND.

Personality domains	n	Average sum scores (M ± SD)
Neuroticism	23	39.48 ± 11.07
Extraversion	23	33.65 ± 8.70
Openness	23	32.83 ± 6.29
Agreeableness	23	44.22 ± 5.90
Conscientiousness	23	43.61 ± 5.56
Alexithymia
Verbalizing	22	28.32 ± 7.45
Fantasizing	22	27.23 ± 7.94
Identifying	22	23.91 ± 7.14
Emotionalizing	22	18.82 ± 5.65
Analyzing	22	20.95 ± 5.36
Total score	22	115.96 ± 19.20
Cognitive domains	n	Average raw scores (M ± SD)^1
Information processing speed	22	59.50 ± 17.33
Memory
Working memory	23	22.30 ± 5.56
Verbal memory	23	8.22 ± 3.64
Visual memory	23	17.09 ± 7.10
Attention
Sustained attention	21	139.24 ± 50.67
Divided attention	22	98.82 ± 60.97
Executive functioning
Mental flexibility	23	19.30 ± 1.94
Planning	23	12.17 ± 4.01

¹Mean raw scores on the neurocognitive tests for the entire sample are presented.

Table 3. Correlations between personality and alexithymia scores and cognitive scores in patients with FND (N = 23).

Cognitive domains	NE	EX	OP	AG	CO	Alexithymia
Information processing speed	.15	.03	.16	−.39	−.10	−.40
Memory
Working memory	.27	−.13	.22	−.36	−.36	−.26
Verbal memory	.12	.20	.20	−.19	.18	−.46
Visual memory	.12	−.07	.08	−.23	.17	.06
Attention
Sustained attention	.04	.16	.32	−.18	−.18	−.45
Divided attention	.04	−.10	−.28	.39	.09	−.11
Executive functioning
Mental flexibility	−.24	.27	.10	−.26	−.07	.13
Planning	.11	−.25	.01	−.11	−.52	−.05

Abbreviations: NE; neuroticism, EX; extraversion, OP; openness, AG; agreeableness, CO; conscientiousness.

Results printed in bold represent significant findings at p < 0.05. After Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (p = 0.006), significant findings were not significant anymore.