Speedy eye movements in multiple sclerosis: association with performance on visual and nonvisual cognitive tests.

OBJECTIVE: Eye movement difficulties in multiple sclerosis (MS) are common and may influence performance on cognitive tests. The following studies examined associations between a new measure of speedy eye movement speed and visual/nonvisual cognitive tests. METHOD: In Experiment 1, MS patients (N = 71) were administered cognitive tests and the Speedy Eyes Test (SET) as a measure of purposeful speedy eye movements under timed conditions. Experiment 2 was composed of MS patients (n = 60) and a neurologically healthy comparison group (n = 31) and examined group differences in an abbreviated version of the SET. RESULTS: In both studies, slower eye movements were significantly associated with poorer performance on cognitive tests with a large effect size in Experiment 1 and a medium effect size in Experiment 2. Analyses in Experiment 2 also revealed significant group differences in an abbreviated measure of the SET, where MS patients had slower eye movements than the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Pending further research, the SET, a brief, inexpensive, and nontechnical measure of speedy eye movement, may serve as a visual/oculomotor indicator of cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.

Visual acuity is associated with performance on visual and non-visual neuropsychological tests in multiple sclerosis.

Both vision and cognitive problems are commonplace in multiple sclerosis. Previous research suggests that MS patients with compromised near vision perform more poorly on visually mediated cognitive tests. Consequently it has been recommended that neuropsychologists who evaluate MS patients with poor corrected near vision should rely primarily on auditory neuropsychological tests. However, no research has examined the association between vision problems and performance on non-visual neuropsychological tests in MS. Moreover, little if any research has examined the association between more sensitive measures of vision impairment and cognitive difficulties in MS. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between visual acuity and cognition in MS. A total of 65 MS patients were administered a visual and neuropsychological evaluation. Visual examination included an assessment of visual acuity, low-contrast visual acuity (5%, 2.5%, and 1.25% illuminated charts) and near visual acuity. Poorer high-contrast, near, and low-contrast visual acuity were significantly associated with poorer performance on visual, non-visual, and motor-based neuropsychological tests. Neuropsychologists should be aware that poor corrected vision in MS is associated with poor performance in all cognitive and motor domains. Results suggest the need for further exploration of visual acuity biomarkers of disease progression in MS.