74

Objectives Aging patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) often encounter challenges with prospective memory (PM), particularly in tasks where intentions are realized at specific times, known as time-based tasks (TB). Performing PM tasks in an environmental context and generating your own prospective intentions are factors known to enhance PM performance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these factors can alleviate difficulties in these patients living with MS. A secondary objective was to explore the relationship between TB performance and the functional autonomy of patients living with MS.MethodA total of 40 patients living with MS and 40 control subjects performed a TB task consisting of environmental stimuli. Each group included 20 younger participants (under 55) and 20 older participants (over 55). The task included a condition where aspects of the prospective intention were either self-generated or imposed by the examiner.ResultsYounger patients living with MS exhibited better performance on the TB task than older patients, while the performance of younger and older control participants was similar. Additionally, self-generating aspects of the intention improved the performance of patients living with MS. PM scores were associated with functional autonomy in older patients living with MS, but not in younger patients living with MS.ConclusionsThe use of familiar stimuli alone is insufficient for enabling older patients living with MS to compensate for their TB difficulties, unlike older control participants. However, they do benefit from generating certain aspects of the intentions themselves. Also, the capacity to perform TB tasks is positively associated with functional autonomy in older patients living with MS, but not their younger counterparts.