Glass, Jennifer M · Current rheumatology reports · 2006 · DOI
Many people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome report problems with memory and thinking clearly. When researchers tested these patients' cognitive abilities, they found real difficulties with memory and how quickly patients process information. Brain imaging studies showed that patients' brains work differently during thinking tasks, requiring more activation than expected.
This study validates that cognitive complaints in ME/CFS are real, measurable deficits—not psychological or imagined—supported by objective testing and brain imaging. Understanding the specific cognitive impairments and their neurobiological basis is essential for developing targeted treatments and helping patients and healthcare providers address these debilitating symptoms.
This review does not establish causation or identify the specific mechanisms causing cognitive dysfunction in either syndrome. It cannot determine whether cognitive deficits result primarily from chronic pain, viral infection, metabolic dysfunction, or other factors. The mechanistic conclusions remain preliminary and require further targeted research.
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
Glass, Jennifer M (2006). Cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome: new trends and future directions.. Current rheumatology reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-006-0036-0
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-glass-2006-cognitive-dysfunction,
author = {Glass, Jennifer M},
title = {Cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome: new trends and future directions.},
journal = {Current rheumatology reports},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1007/s11926-006-0036-0},
note = {PubMed: 17092441},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/glass-2006-cognitive-dysfunction},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/glass-2006-cognitive-dysfunction
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