Procedural Learning Improves Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered a neurodegenerative disease and an inflammatory demyelinating neuropathology in young population. Procedural memory has been poorly investigated in MS. OBJECTIVE: We assessed whether the MS group was able to develop a motor-cognitive skill, using a procedural task (PLSC) developed in our laboratory, applying a manual and serial reaction time (RT) paradigm to semantic categorization. METHODS: We evaluated 26 MS patients and 26 socio-demographic matched control participants using the PLSC task. RESULTS: Using non-parametric statistical analyses, we observed a significant improvement of semantic categorization RTs with practice (p = 0.002), even with new verbal material to categorize in MS patients (p = 0.006), despite their motor and executive moderate deficits. This same profile of semantic procedural learning in MS was observed in previous studies carried out with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Moreover, the visual-motor RTs remained stable or slightly improved over the five blocks in both groups, as well as in the AD groups of previous studies. The MS group showed longer visual-motor reaction times than those of the control group (p < 0.042), except in motor initiation aspect (p = 0.064). Both groups showed no significant differences for any type of error. Additionally, disability level and cognitive performances were not associated with the ratio of semantic procedural learning. CONCLUSION: The present results support the notion that MS patients may be capable of acquiring semantic skill, despite their motor disabilities and executive troubles. This work also addresses the possibilities to improve motor-cognitive skill RTs in neurodegenerative diseases.