Which cognitive symptoms occur in people with multiple sclerosis?

Common cognitive symptoms include memory impairment, difficulties encoding and retrieving information, slowed processing speed, reduced attention (selective and alternating), and emotional problems such as anxiety and depression.

What examples of cognitive rehabilitation exercises are provided?

Examples include Jump the Squares, Bottle Caps, Find Letters in Words, Put Numbers in Order, and Word Scramble, available in digital and paper formats to train attention, inhibition, processing speed, vocabulary and working memory.

How do these exercises target specific cognitive functions?

Exercises map to functions: Jump the Squares and Bottle Caps train alternating attention and inhibition; Find Letters targets selective attention; Put Numbers improves processing speed; Word Scramble strengthens vocabulary and working memory.

Can activities be customized for people with multiple sclerosis?

Yes. Parameters like difficulty levels, number ranges, time limits, visible timers, error allowances, hints and format (digital or paper) can be adjusted to match individual abilities and rehabilitation goals.

Who should use the NeuronUP cognitive stimulation program?

Neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and other neurorehabilitation professionals can use NeuronUP to adapt activities to each patient’s needs and support cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis.

Cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis

Q: What are cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis?

Structured, therapist-designed activities that improve attention, memory, processing speed and executive functions in people with multiple sclerosis, used alongside medication, physiotherapy and speech or occupational therapy to reduce cognitive decline and promote functional generalization.

In this post we describe cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis developed by neurorehabilitation professionals for professionals.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that is caused by an unknown virus or antigen. In this case, the immune system of our body attacks the myelin, which is a substance that surrounds nerve fibers, allowing the transmission of the nerve impulse at an adequate speed, which results in poor communication between neurons and causes various symptoms that we will describe below.

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis

The most frequent symptoms of multiple sclerosis are visual disturbances, balance problems, speech problems, hand tremor, limb weakness and loss of strength.

There also tend to be cognitive problems in memory, the encoding and retrieval of information and emotional problems such as anxiety and depression.

Treatment

At present there is no treatment that cures this neurodegenerative disease, although there are some drugs that delay its progression and improve its symptoms.

Ideally these drugs are combined with physiotherapy sessions, occupational therapy and speech therapy. In addition, the figure of the neuropsychologist is essential to address the cognitive deficits that appear.

The NeuronUP cognitive stimulation program allows neuropsychologists, occupational therapists and speech therapists to adapt each activity to the particularities and needs of each person, delaying the effects of the disease.

The examples of cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis described here have been developed by NeuronUP under the principles of generalization.

Cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis

Below, we propose five cognitive rehabilitation exercises for people with multiple sclerosis:

1. Jump the Squares

What does it involve?

The user must follow a path with the goal of reaching the final square, jumping elements or moving back, according to the rules given. The goal is for the user to learn to be flexible according to the imposed task.

NeuronUP Activities - Jump the Squares — NeuronUP activity *Jump the Squares*.

What does this activity work on?

This activity is designed to work on the following cognitive functions:

Alternating attention.
Inhibition.

Play by levels

At the easiest levels the route will be simpler and there will be fewer instructions, while at the most advanced levels the route becomes more complicated and the instructions multiply.

Format

This worksheet is available both in digital format and in paper.

2. Bottle Caps

What does it involve?

This game consists of ordering the sequence of numbers in motion.

NeuronUP Activities - Bottlecaps with letters — NeuronUP activity *Bottle Caps*.

What does this activity work on?

This activity is designed to work on the following cognitive functions:

Alternating attention.
Inhibition.

Play by levels

At the easiest levels the user will have fewer Bottle Caps and very low numbers, while at the most difficult levels the Bottle Caps will multiply and numbers of up to three digits may appear.

Activity customization

In addition, you can customize the activity to adapt it to each person’s abilities.

Parameters

You can select the number of Bottle Caps, the range of numbers, the order of the numbers (From Smallest to Largest or from largest to smallest), whether the Bottle Caps are moving or not and the maximum errors.

General aspects

You can adjust the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity, modify the performance instructions, etc.

3. Find letters in words

What does it involve?

The user must search for the words that have the indicated letters. In this exercise they must search for words that contain the letter “R”.

NeuronUP Activities - Camouflaged Letters-2 — NeuronUP activity *Find letters in words*.

What does this activity work on?

The main objective of this exercise is to work on selective attention, which consists of the ability to focus on something specific while ignoring other stimuli.

4. Put Numbers in Order

What does it involve?

This is a very fun exercise in which the user has to order a series of numbers from smallest to largest or vice versa.

NeuronUP Activities - Put Numbers in Order — NeuronUP activity *Put Numbers in Order*.

What does this activity work on?

This activity is designed to work on processing speed, that is, the pace at which the brain performs a task (obviously, it varies depending on the task, depending on the other cognitive functions involved in it).

Activity customization

In addition, you can customize the activity to suit each user’s abilities.

Parameters

You can select the range of numbers, the quantity of numbers, the type of numbers (integers, decimals or negatives) and the order.

General aspects

You can adjust general aspects such as the type of operation, the maximum time, whether or not a visible timer is shown for the activity and an inactivity warning, modify the instructions for performance, etc.

5. Word Scramble

What does it involve?

This game consists of ordering the letters that appear to form a word.

NeuronUP Activities - Word Scramble — NeuronUP activity *Word Scramble*.

What does this activity work on?

This activity is designed to work on the following cognitive functions:

Vocabulary
Working memory

Play by levels

At the easiest levels there will be fewer letters to order and at the most difficult levels it will be very difficult to deduce the word.

Activity customization

In addition, you can customize the activity to adapt it to each user’s abilities.

Parameters

You can select the word length, the hints and the maximum errors.

General aspects

You can adjust the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not a visible timer is shown for the activity, modify the performance instructions, etc.