Journal of clinical rheumatology : practical reports on rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases
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Abnormal processing of information in fibromyalgia may hold clues to brain abnormalities in this illness. The purpose of this study is to examine the speed of mental operations in people with the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) under the pressure of time. The central question addresses whether FMS is associated with processing speed deficits across a spectrum of speeded tasks. ⋯ Abnormalities in naming speed are an unappreciated feature of FMS. Selective deficits in naming speed in association with otherwise well preserved global processing speed set patients with FMS apart from controls with memory complaints. Clinicians would be wise to specifically request adding a rapid naming test such as the Stroop Test to the cognitive battery; to document cognitive dysfunction in FMS patients who otherwise appear to test normally, despite often intense complaints of memory and concentration difficulties that can affect job performance and increase disability.