Social and Moral Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

Participants indicate, on scales ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (completely) their levels of agreement on 10 items assessing their future time perspective (e.g. "I plan to set many new goals for myself in the future"). A total score is extracted.

Participants are presented with 20 fill-in-the-blank words. These words can be completed either with words referring to future time ("target words"), or with neutral words. The percentage of target words is extracted.

This task allows us to assess whether individuals tend to pay more attention to positive or negative information. During the dot-probe task, participants are situated in front of a computer screen and asked to stare at a fixation cross on the center of the screen. Two stimuli, one of which is neutral and one of which is threatening, appear randomly on either side of the screen. The stimuli are presented for a predetermined length of time (most commonly 500ms), before a dot is presented in the location of one former stimulus. Participants are instructed to indicate the location of this dot as quickly as possible, either via keyboard or response box. Latency is measured automatically by the computer. The fixation cross appears again for several seconds and then the cycle is repeated. Quicker reaction time to the dot when it occurs in the previous location of a threatening stimulus is interpreted as vigilance to threat.

This test aims to measure to what extent the participant finds the proposed solution acceptable. For example: How acceptable do you find it to activate the switch in this situation? An 11-point Likert scale is displayed, ranging from "Not at all" to "Absolutely".

This test aims to measure the individual's emotional (subjective) reaction to a moral dilemma. For example: What emotion does this situation arouse in you? An 11-point Likert scale is displayed, ranging from "None" to "Intense emotion".

This test aims to measure to what extent the participant feels this choice is consensual. For example: Out of 100 people who responded to this scenario, how many would answer as you do? An 11-point Likert scale is displayed below the question, ranging from 0% to 100%.

This test enables the assessment of cognitive disorders. The battery's 3 component tests are as follows:

• California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT): This test is based on a master list of 16 words belonging to 4 distinct semantic categories . The list is presented 5 times, with the patient asked to recall it immediately after each presentation and after a 20-minute delay. A main score is extracted.
• Brief Visuo-spatial Memory Test (BVMT): This test involves 6 simple geometric drawings. 3 presentation/recall phases follow one another, during which the patient is shown the sheet for 10 seconds, followed by an immediate recall phase. A delayed recall phase (at 7 minutes) is also proposed. A main score is extracted.
• Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT): a coding test in which the patient has 90 seconds to orally state the correspondence of digits (from 1 to 9) to 9 different symbols (matched according to a correspondence standard). The number of correct answers is measured.

This is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, for measuring the severity of depression.

When the test is scored, a value of 0 to 3 is assigned for each answer and then the total score is compared to a key to determine the depression's severity. The standard cut-off scores are as follows:

0-9: indicates minimal depression 10-18: indicates mild depression 19-29: indicates moderate depression 30-63: indicates severe depression. Higher total scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory is one of the first tests to assess both state and trait anxiety separately. Each type of anxiety has its own scale of 20 different questions that are scored.[10] Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores correlating with greater anxiety.

The TAS-20 is a self-report scale that is comprised of 20 items. Items are rated using a 5-point Likert scale whereby 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. There are 5 items that are negatively keyed (items 4, 5, 10, 18 and 19). The total alexithymia score is the sum of responses to all 20 items, while the score for each subscale factor is the sum of the responses to that subscale. The TAS-20 uses cutoff scoring: equal to or less than 51 = non-alexithymia, equal to or greater than 61 = alexithymia. Scores of 52 to 60 = possible alexithymia.

This is an 8-item self-questionnaire. Subjects are asked to self-assess their level of empathy by positioning themselves, for each item, on a rating scale from 1 to 5 (1 = completely disagree and 5 = completely agree). The total score is analyzed.

During performance of the moral judgment task, an electrodermal response recording device will be installed via two electrodes placed on the participant's non-dominant hand to measure objective emotional reactivity. Individuals' signals are examined in relation to their own baseline levels (without stimuli, Baseline measure), which will serve as a reference for interpreting the signals obtained during the task.