BEHAVIORAL-PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

Disturbances of memory, concentration and motor function are often rep orted by patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The present study objectively evaluated these behavioural problems using a comput erized test battery measuring memory, attention and motor skills. Fift y-seven CFS patients were compared with 19 matched controls and all su bjects completed the performance test battery and filled in questionna ires measuring psychopathology and mood. The patients reported signifi cantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, physical symptoms and cog nitive failures than the controls. Similarly, they reported more negat ive affect at the time of testing. The patients were slower on psychom otor tasks, showed increased visual sensitivity and impaired attention . Digit span and free recall were not impaired but retrieval from sema ntic memory and logical reasoning were slower. None of the performance differences between patients and controls could be attributed to diff erences in psychopathology. These results agree with recent findings f rom other laboratories, and it is now time to consider the nature of t he neurological dysfunction underlying these effects.