Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic, generalized and diffuse pain disorder accompanied by cognitive deficits such as forgetfulness, concentration difficulties, loss of vocabulary and mental slowness, among others. In recent years, FMS has been associated with altered intestinal microbiota, suggesting that modulating gut microbiota (for example, through probiotics) could be an effective therapeutic treatment. Thus, the aim of the present study was to continue exploring the role of probiotics in cognitive processes in patients with FMS. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in 31 patients diagnosed with FMS to compare the effects of a multispecies probiotic versus a placebo on cognitive variables (memory and attention) after eight weeks. Results showed that treatment with a multispecies probiotic produced an improvement in attention by reducing errors on an attention task, but it had no effect on memory. More specifically, a tendency to reduce errors of omission (Go trials) during the Go/No-Go Task was observed after treatment. These findings, along with our previous results in impulsivity, underline the relevance of using probiotics as a therapeutic option in FMS, although more research with a larger sample size is required.
Keywords: attention; fibromyalgia; gastrointestinal microbiome; gut–brain axis; memory; microbiota; probiotics.