Auditory P300 as a neurophysiological marker of cognitive impairment in fibromyalgia syndrome

Abstract Background Cognitive dysfunction has become a well-recognized clinical feature of fibromyalgia syndrome. Although subjective cognitive complaints are frequently reported, objective neurophysiological assessments remain limited. Auditory P300 event related potentials may provide an objective measure of altered cognitive processing in FM patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate cognitive performance in fibromyalgia patients and analyze the association between cognitive affection and determine the relationship with disease duration and the severity. Methods A total of 30 adult fibromyalgia patients were enrolled in this study. Participant underwent detailed clinical evaluation, including medical history taking, basic audiological assessment, disease severity evaluation using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), P300, mini mental state examination (MMSE). The obtained findings were compared with age and gender matched controls. Results Compared with healthy controls, patients demonstrated significantly lower MMSE scores, prolonged P300 latency, and reduced P300 amplitudes. P300 latency showed significant correlations with MMSE and FIQR scores. P300 latency demonstrated the highest discriminatory performance among investigated parameters in differentiating FM patients from healthy controls. Conclusions Fibromyalgia patients exhibited measurable differences in cognitive performance compared with healthy controls. These findings support the presence of altered cognitive processing in FM patients and suggest that P300 may be a promising objective neurophysiological measure of cognitive function.