Evaluation of Attention and Verbal Memory Functions of Individuals with Misophonia

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the attention and verbal memory performances of individuals with symptoms of misophonia.

Methods: The study included 70 participants: 30 with misophonia and 40 controls without misophonia. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), Misophonia Questionnaire, Digit Span Test (DST), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Stroop Test (ST), and Verbal Memory Processes Scale (VMPS) were applied to the participants.

Results: The depression, anxiety, and stress scores of the misophonia group were statistically significantly higher than the control group (P < .05). The misophonia group performed poorly compared with the control group on 2 tests assessing attention (semantic fluency and ST-number of incorrect) (P < .05). No difference was found between the groups in cognitive areas such as simple attention, working memory, phonetic fluency, and verbal memory.

Conclusion: Misophonia has a limited effect on attention functions. This effect was not observed in verbal memory. More comprehensive studies are needed to determine the effects of misophonia on attention, and memory.

Cite this article as: Aslan D, Demirci H, Kurt-Dizdar S, Özer OA. Evaluation of attention and verbal memory functions of individuals with misophonia. Neuropsychiatr Invest. 2025; 63, 0063, doi: 10.5152/NeuropsychiatricInvest.2025.24063.