Structural networks involved in attention and executive functions in multiple sclerosis
Sara Llufriu1, Eloy Martinez-Heras1, Elisabeth Solana1
1Center of Neuroimmunology, Laboratory of Advanced Imaging in Neuroimmunological Diseases, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) and Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Neuroimage. Clinical
|January 5, 2017
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) disrupts brain connectivity, affecting attention and executive functions. Structural network analysis reveals widespread white matter damage and gray matter changes, impacting cognitive performance.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Radiology
Background:
- Attention and executive deficits are common in multiple sclerosis (MS), often linked to brain disconnection.
- Understanding structural connectivity changes is crucial for explaining these cognitive impairments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in structural brain connectivity in MS patients compared to healthy volunteers.
- To correlate these structural changes with attention and executive function performance.
Main Methods:
- Employed advanced probabilistic tractography and anatomical criteria for postprocessing.
- Utilized graph theory to analyze structural network metrics and fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter connections.
- Compared 72 MS patients with 38 healthy volunteers (HV).
Main Results:
- MS patients showed decreased network transitivity, global efficiency, and increased path length.
- Reduced nodal strength was observed in several gray matter regions, with the right pallidum and left insula becoming hubs in MS.
- Widespread reduction in white matter edge FA was noted, alongside increased FA in specific connections, suggesting complex network alterations.
- Impaired integrity of frontoparietal networks, deep gray nuclei, and insula correlated with poorer attention and executive function.
Conclusions:
- Structural brain connectivity is significantly disturbed in MS, involving both white matter and gray matter structures.
- Observed increases in edge connectivity may indicate compensatory reorganization mechanisms.
- Frontoparietal networks, deep gray nuclei, and insula integrity are critical for maintaining cognitive functions like attention and executive control in MS.
