Introduction: In daily life, individuals constantly encounter stimuli from both external environmental sources and internal emotional triggers. Often, these stimuli are filtered out, but sometimes...Show moreIntroduction: In daily life, individuals constantly encounter stimuli from both external environmental sources and internal emotional triggers. Often, these stimuli are filtered out, but sometimes this process fails, leading to a sensation of being 'overstimulated.' This can negatively impact daily functioning. As people age, sensory perception typically declines, which might affect stimulus processing. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between age and the degree of sensory processing. Method: Demographic data (age, gender, education level) were collected from individuals aged 18-67 years. Sensory processing was measured using the validated Sensory Processing Sensitivity Questionnaire (SPSQ). The relationship between age and sensory processing was analyzed in SPSS using Pearson's correlation analysis. Post-hoc, participants were divided into two groups: younger (<50 years) and older (≥50 years). The SPSQ scores between these groups were compared using an independent samples t-test. Results: A total of 134 individuals participated in the study. The median age was 44.5 years (IQR = 22.00 - 54.25) and 37.3% were male. The average SPSQ score for the group was 187.5 (SD = 25.3, range = 120-257). There was no significant relationship between age and SPSQ score (r = -.088, 95% CI [-.254, .083], p = .31). Additionally, there was no significant difference in SPSQ scores between the older (SPSQ score: 189.21) and younger (SPSQ score: 185.34) groups (t(133) = -.880, p = .190). Discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no effect of age on sensory processing sensitivity. This may indicate that there are no issues with sensory processing in individuals younger than 67 years. Several options for future research are discussed.Show less
General cognitive decline has frequently been described in multiple sclerosis literature. Specific predictors of memory decline have yet to be determined. Furthermore, general cognitive differences...Show moreGeneral cognitive decline has frequently been described in multiple sclerosis literature. Specific predictors of memory decline have yet to be determined. Furthermore, general cognitive differences between sexes have already been determined in MS. However, relatively little is known about sex differences in specific memory functioning and its decline over time. The aims of this paper were to identify sex differences in memory functioning in MS patients’ latest and second to latest visits to a MS clinic, and to identify predicting factors of memory decline in MS. This was a longitudinal cohort study of retrospective nature in which data was obtained from 253 MS patients (26.5 % male, 73.5% female, mean age in years = 53.9, mean disease duration in years = 17.3, SD = 10.2SD = 13.2, 8.8% had primary progressive MS, 30.3% had secondary progressive MS, 60.2% had relapse remitting MS, and the phenotype of 0.7% was unknown) in an MS rehabilitation center in Belgium. Verbal memory functioning was determined with the use of two subtests of the Buschke Selective Reminding Test. Visuospatial memory was determined with the Spatial Recall Test (SPART). To determine if patients were impaired in memory functioning at baseline, a cutoff score of 1.5SD or lower compared to the norm group was used. Patients that showed a decline in memory scores of >0.25SD per year were defined as “declining”. Our results showed that more women than men were impaired on all memory tests at their latest visit. Furthermore, patients declining on visual memory were found to perceive more pain and discomfort (p = .017, Cohen’s d = .730), problems in daily activities (p = .038, Cohen’s d = .632), and experienced more problems with selfcare (p = .035, Cohen’s d = .641). Moreover, patients declining on verbal memory showed more signs of depressive thoughts (p = .025, Cohen’s d = .816) and anxiety (p = .013, Cohen’s d = .828). The current research was successful in identifying differences between men and women at their latest visit, although we were not able to identify predicting factors of memory decline. Furthermore, we were successful in depicting cognitive differences between declining and non- declining MS patients. Future research should elaborate on the effect of depression, anxiety, quality of life, and possibly fatigue, on memory decline. Additionally, predictors of decline should be identified to eventually improve the care of MS patients and consequently decrease their rate of cognitive deterioration.Show less
Psychological resilience and cognitive functioning have both been studied in their relationship with quality of life in patients, yet, only a few studies have assessed their relationship in the...Show morePsychological resilience and cognitive functioning have both been studied in their relationship with quality of life in patients, yet, only a few studies have assessed their relationship in the working healthy adult population. As such, this study investigated the relationship between resilience and cognitive functioning in employed healthy adults. Resilience was measured using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), while objective cognitive functioning was measured by means of a composite score combining information on information processing speed (Symbol digit modalities test), verbal memory (California Verbal Learning Test-II), and visuo-spatial memory (Spatial recall test). In total, 30 participants aged were included in this study, of which 16 were female (53.3%) and 14 were male (46.7%). The age of the participants ranged between 19 and 59 years old. No significant correlation between resilience and cognitive functioning was found (N = 24, τ = .196 p = .193). A post-hoc analysis showed that there was a positive relationship present between resilience and cognitive functioning, when the correlation was calculated for females only (N = 14, r = .719, p = .004). No such relationship was found when the correlation was calculated for males only. It is recommended that future research investigates whether there are indeed differences between sexes on the relationship between psychological resilience and cognitive functioning, like the one reported here. In addition, this study encourages the further analysis of resilience and its relationship with cognition as well as its subdomains in healthy adults, to get a clearer picture if and how the two are related to one another, so that health programs could make potential use of psychological resilience, as to improve a person’s overall quality of life.Show less
