Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome

James N Baraniuk; Kiran Thapaliya; Maira Inderyas; Zack Y Shan; Leighton R Barnden

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-75651-3

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Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome

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Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome

James N Baraniuk, Kiran Thapaliya, Maira Inderyas, Zack Y Shan and Leighton R Barnden

Scientific Reports, Vol.14(1), pp.1-17

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75651-3

PMCID: PMC11538523

PMID: 39500939

Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection

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Stroop and practice effects in cognitive dysfunction of Long COVID and Myalgic E...

Abstract

stroop effect

facilitation

interference

practice

cognitive dysfunction

Long COVID

myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome

ME/CFS

Thompson Institute Special collection

Other Collaborations

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Background: The Stroop task was used to investigate differences in cognitive function between Long COVID (LC), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and healthy control subjects. Methods: Subjects viewed four color words or neutral (XXXX) stimuli with the same (congruent) or different color ink (incongruent). Cognitive conflict was inferred from response times for pairings of prestimuli and subsequent stimuli. Overall effects were assessed by univariate analysis with time courses determined for binned response times. Results: LC and ME/CFS had significantly longer response times than controls indicating cognitive dysfunction. Initial response times were ranked LC > ME > HC, and decreased according to power functions. At the end of the task (900s), times were ranked LC = ME > HC. Response times were significantly slower for stimuli following an incongruent prestimulus. Time series for Stroop effect, facilitation, interference, surprise index and practice power law parameters were generally similar in LC, ME/CFS and HC suggesting comparable patterns for recruitment of cognitive resources. The prestimulus data were analyzed and generated positive Stroop and interference effects that were distinct from stimulus effects. Conclusion: LC and ME/CFS have global slowing of response times that cannot be overcome by practice suggesting impaired communications between network nodes during problem solving. Analysis of matched prestimulus – stimulus effects adds a new dimension for understanding cognitive conflict. Brief Summary: Cognitive dysfunction in Long COVID and ME/CFS was demonstrated using the Stroop task which found global slowing of response times and limitations of practice effects.

Details

Title: Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome
Authors: James N Baraniuk (Corresponding Author) - Georgetown University
Kiran Thapaliya - Griffith University
Maira Inderyas - Griffith University
Zack Y Shan - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Leighton R Barnden - Griffith University
Publication details: Scientific Reports, Vol.14(1), pp.1-17
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75651-3
ISSN: 2045-2322
PMID: 39500939; PMC11538523
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Data Availability: All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.
Grant note: The Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation.
Organisation Unit: Thompson Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991081897102621
Output Type: Journal article

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