Cognition and cognitive rehabilitation in adult and juvenile patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is accompanied by cognitive deficits in half of adult patients and in
one third of children. These deficits have a serious impact on daily functioning of patients and
may influence the ability to achieve educational goals and participate in professional and
social life. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is on cognitive deficits, especially the core
deficit regarding working memory (WM), and their treatment with cognitive rehabilitation.
The present dissertation contains three original manuscripts that target these topics and further
investigate A) the importance of cognitive functioning and the utility of neuropsychological
testing in MS patients, B) different patterns of response to WM training regarding cognitive
and brain function in adults with MS, and C) effects of WM training in juvenile patients with
MS.