DeLuca, J, Johnson, S K, Beldowicz, D et al. · Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 1995 · DOI
This study tested thinking and memory skills in people with ME/CFS, comparing them to people with multiple sclerosis, depression, and healthy individuals. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had significant trouble processing information quickly, similar to those with depression. The cognitive problems in ME/CFS were not explained by depression or anxiety alone.
This study provides objective neuropsychological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable cognitive dysfunction independent of depression, helping validate patient reports of 'brain fog' and cognitive impairment. It distinguishes ME/CFS cognitive profiles from other neurological and psychiatric conditions, supporting ME/CFS as a distinct condition with its own neurobiological basis.
This study does not establish the cause of cognitive impairment in ME/CFS or whether it results from a specific biological mechanism. As a cross-sectional study, it cannot determine whether cognitive deficits develop early in illness or progress over time. The lack of correlation between depression measures and cognition does not prove depression plays no role—only that it may not fully explain the observed deficits.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
DeLuca, J, Johnson, S K, Beldowicz, D, & Natelson, B H (1995). Neuropsychological impairments in chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and depression.. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.58.1.38
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-deluca-1995-neuropsychological-impairments,
author = {DeLuca, J and Johnson, S K and Beldowicz, D and Natelson, B H},
title = {Neuropsychological impairments in chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and depression.},
journal = {Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1136/jnnp.58.1.38},
note = {PubMed: 7823065},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/deluca-1995-neuropsychological-impairments},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/deluca-1995-neuropsychological-impairments
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.