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Published on: February 15, 2015
A longitudinal fMRI study of the paced auditory serial addition task
K S Cardinal1, S M Wilson, B S Giesser
1Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
|January 23, 2008
Summary
This study shows that brain activity during the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) is reproducible in healthy individuals over six months. This finding supports using functional MRI (fMRI) with PASAT for tracking cognitive changes in clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) assesses working memory and attention, often showing abnormalities in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
- Functional MRI (fMRI) studies reveal altered brain activation in MS patients during PASAT, but serial fMRI measures are lacking.
- Repeated PASAT testing can lead to practice effects, confounding serial assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the reproducibility of brain activation patterns during PASAT performance in healthy controls over a six-month period.
- To establish the reliability of PASAT and fMRI as outcome measures for cognitive function in clinical research.
Main Methods:
- Healthy controls (n=10) underwent weekly PASAT testing for four weeks to mitigate practice effects.
- fMRI scans were acquired at baseline and after six months during PASAT performance.
- PASAT scores and fMRI activation patterns were analyzed for stability over time.
Main Results:
- PASAT performance improved in the first three trials and then stabilized.
- Consistent brain activation was observed in left frontal and parietal regions during PASAT.
- Both PASAT performance and fMRI activation patterns remained stable over the six-month interval.
Conclusions:
- PASAT performance and associated brain activity are reproducible in healthy individuals after practice effects are controlled.
- Serial fMRI during PASAT performance shows potential as a reliable outcome measure for cognitive decline in clinical trials.
- This methodology can aid in assessing the efficacy of interventions targeting cognitive dysfunction in neurological conditions.
