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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
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Neuroimaging-Guided TMS–EEG for Real-Time Cortical Network Mapping
Published on: June 13, 2025
Combining tractography and cortical measures to test system-specific hypotheses in multiple sclerosis
Nikos Gorgoraptis1, Claudia A M Wheeler-Kingshott, Thomas M Jenkins
1Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, UK.
Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
|March 11, 2010
Summary
Multiple sclerosis patients show reduced corticospinal tract integrity and primary motor cortex size compared to controls. These imaging markers correlate with disability, suggesting potential cortical adaptation in multiple sclerosis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- White Matter Diseases
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system.
- Motor deficits are common in MS, impacting corticospinal tract (CST) and primary motor cortex (M1) function.
- Understanding the relationship between CST integrity, M1 structure, and disability is crucial for MS management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in CST and M1 imaging measures between MS patients and controls.
- To determine the correlation between these imaging measures and clinical disability in MS patients.
- To explore the relationship between CST integrity and ipsilateral M1 measures in MS.
Main Methods:
- Diffusion-based probabilistic tractography was used to assess CST connectivity and fractional anisotropy.
- FreeSurfer software analyzed precentral and paracentral cortical volume, thickness, surface area, and curvature.
- Eleven MS patients with hemiparesis and 12 healthy controls were studied.
Main Results:
- MS patients exhibited lower CST fractional anisotropy and reduced precentral gyrus volume and surface area compared to controls.
- In MS patients, lower CST connectivity and paracentral cortical volume, surface area, and curvature correlated with increased disability.
- Reduced CST connectivity in affected tracts was associated with increased ipsilateral paracentral cortical surface area.
Conclusions:
- CST connectivity and M1 structural measures (surface area, curvature) reflect white and grey matter damage contributing to MS-related disability.
- The association between reduced CST connectivity and increased ipsilateral M1 surface area suggests potential cortical adaptation mechanisms in MS.
- Combining tractography and cortical imaging provides a valuable method for assessing functional systems in MS and other neurological disorders.
