Validity of the California Verbal Learning Test-II in Multiple Sclerosis

• Published in: Clinical neuropsychologist 2010-02, Vol.24 (2), p.189-202
• Main Authors: Stegen, Shane, Stepanov, Igor, Cookfair, Diane, Schwartz, Eben, Hojnacki, David, Weinstock-Guttman, Bianca, Benedict, Ralph H. B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Female; Humans; Male; Memory; Memory, Short-Term; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Neuropsychological testing; Neuropsychological Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Retention (Psychology); Severity of Illness Index; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1385-4046; 1744-4144
• DOI: 10.1080/13854040903266910

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system where roughly 50% of patients exhibit cognitive impairment. Episodic memory defects are particularly common in MS and the California Verbal Learning Test: 2nd Edition (CVLT-II) was recommended for assessment in MS in a recently published consensus position paper. We investigated the validity of the CVLT-II in 351 MS patients and 69 demographically matched normal controls. MS patients performed significantly more poorly on 18 of the 23 measures examined. In addition to a general memory factor, factor analysis revealed five distinct factors conforming to measures of consolidation, primary/recency effect, proactive interference, and learning asymptote. The external validity of the CVLT-II was also supported by logistic regression analysis, which separated employed from work-disabled MS patients. We conclude that the CVLT-II is a valid test in MS and provides a rich constellation of verbal memory measures.