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From the College of Health Sciences (K.B.S.), University of Texas, El Paso, Texas, and the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (K.B.S., R.M.), Radiology (D.H.L.), and Medicine (J.I.F., D.S.B.), University of Washington, Seattle.
Address reprint requests to: Karen B. Schmaling, PhD, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 1101 N. Campbell St., El Paso, TX 79902. Email: schmaling{at}utep.edu
OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to compare functional imaging under control and experimental conditions among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and healthy persons and to examine perceived and objective performance on a test of attention and working memory previously found to be difficult for persons with CFS.
METHODS: Single-photon emission computerized tomography scans were completed on 15 subjects with CFS and 15 healthy persons twice: at rest and when performing the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT).
RESULTS: No group differences were found for performance on the PASAT despite CFS subjects’ perceptions of exerting more mental effort to perform the task than healthy subjects. Inspection of the aggregate scans by group and task suggested a pattern of diffuse regional cerebral blood flow among subjects with CFS in comparison with the more focal pattern of regional cerebral blood flow seen among healthy subjects. Between-group region-of-interest analysis revealed that although CFS subjects showed less perfusion in the anterior cingulate region, the change in CFS subjects’ activation of the left anterior cingulate region during the PASAT was greater than that observed for healthy subjects. The differences were not attributable to lesser effort by the subjects with CFS, confounding effects of mood perturbation, or to poorer performance on the experimental task.
CONCLUSIONS: Further research regarding CFS subjects’ diffuse cerebral perfusion and its relationship to inefficient neuropsychological performance is warranted.
Key Words: chronic fatigue syndrome • neurocognitive function • single-photon emission computerized tomography • working memory • information processing.
Abbreviations: ANCOVA = analysis of covariance; CFS = chronic fatigue syndrome; MANCOVA = multivariate analysis of covariance; MASQ = Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale; PASAT = Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test; rCBF = regional cerebral blood flow; SF-36 = 36-item short form of the Medical Outcomes Study; SPECT = single-photon emission computerized tomography.
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