Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1393877

Effect of methylphenidate on oculomotor function in individuals with multiple sclerosis: A pilot randomized placebo-controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Timothy J. Rich Timothy J. Rich 1,2*Aubree Alexander Aubree Alexander 2,3Ekaterina Dobryakova Ekaterina Dobryakova 2,3Nancy D. Chiaravalloti Nancy D. Chiaravalloti 2,3John DeLuca John DeLuca 1,2Silvana L Costa Silvana L Costa 2,3
  • 1 Kessler Foundation, West Orange, United States
  • 2 New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, United States
  • 3 Kessler Research Foundation, East Hanover, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently experience visual and oculomotor symptoms that may impact and confound neuropsychological assessments of information processing speed (IPS). In this study, we examined the effect of the psychostimulant methylphenidate on oculomotor function in a sample of 11 participants with MS using a repeated measures crossover design. In addition, we explored the association between change in oculomotor speed and change in information processing speed. We found a significant improvement in oculomotor speed in the methylphenidate condition as compared to placebo. This improvement was significantly correlated with improvement on a visuomotor assessment of IPS (Symbol Digit Modalities Test), but no such association was found for an auditory-verbal assessment of IPS (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test). These findings suggest that individuals with MS experience improved oculomotor speed while taking methylphenidate, which may, in turn, improve performance on assessments of IPS with visuomotor demands.

    Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis, processing speed, Methylphenidate, Oculomotor Muscles, Eye Movements

    Received: 29 Feb 2024; Accepted: 29 Apr 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rich, Alexander, Dobryakova, Chiaravalloti, DeLuca and L Costa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Timothy J. Rich, Kessler Foundation, West Orange, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.