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Therapy-induced plasticity of cognitive functions in MS patients: insights from fMRI
Iris-Katharina Penner1, Ludwig Kappos, Martin Rausch
1Department of Cognitive Psychology and Methodology, University of Basel, Switzerland. ik.penner@unibas.ch
Abstract:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system whose pathological mechanisms are still not completely understood. Physical as well as cognitive deterioration are consequences within the disease process that have an extensive impact on the patient's quality of life. Therefore, understanding the functional background of spontaneous as well as induced remission is of high relevance. Studies on visualization of therapeutic effects of pharmacological or cognitive treatment by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are still rare. From fMRI studies on focal brain lesions hypotheses on mechanisms of brain reorganization can be derived. This contribution will first give an overview of the existing studies using fMRI in MS, on cognitive decline, on cognitive treatment studies and its therapeutic effects on behavioural readouts in MS, and on therapy-induced brain plasticity and its possible visualization by fMRI. Results of a study on correlating the effects of cognitive training with changes in brain organization in patients with mild to severe cognitive impairment will be reported.
Insights
This study explores functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visualize brain changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients undergoing cognitive training. It highlights therapy-induced brain plasticity and its impact on cognitive function in MS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system inflammatory disease with incompletely understood pathological mechanisms.
- Physical and cognitive deterioration significantly impact patients' quality of life.
- Understanding remission mechanisms is crucial for MS management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in MS, focusing on cognitive decline and treatment effects.
- To explore therapy-induced brain plasticity and its visualization via fMRI.
- To report on a study correlating cognitive training effects with brain organization changes in MS patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on fMRI applications in multiple sclerosis.
- Analysis of studies on cognitive decline and cognitive treatment in MS.
- Investigation of therapy-induced brain plasticity visualization using fMRI.
- Reporting results from a specific study on cognitive training and brain organization changes.
Main Results:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on therapeutic effects in MS are relatively rare.
- fMRI can provide insights into brain reorganization mechanisms, particularly from studies on focal brain lesions.
- Cognitive training may induce changes in brain organization, which can potentially be visualized by fMRI.
Conclusions:
- fMRI is a valuable tool for visualizing therapy-induced brain plasticity in multiple sclerosis.
- Understanding these changes is key to improving cognitive function and quality of life for MS patients.
- Further research correlating cognitive training with fMRI-detected brain changes is warranted.
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