Cognitive performance shows domain specific associations with regional cortical thickness in multiple sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) frequently causes cognitive impairment, impacting patients' quality of life.
• Previous studies suggest a link between regional brain atrophy and cognitive decline in MS, but findings are inconsistent due to varied assessment methods and heterogeneous deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific associations between regional cortical thickness and various cognitive domains (attention, memory, spatial processing, executive functioning) in a large sample of MS patients.
• To identify distinct patterns of cortical involvement related to cognitive performance in MS.
• To validate findings in an independent MS cohort and compare with healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an extensive neuropsychological battery of 23 tasks to assess cognitive functions in 97 MS patients.
• Employed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure regional cortical thickness.
• Correlated cognitive performance with cortical thickness in specific brain regions, including replication in a separate cohort of 30 MS patients.

Main Results:

• Significant associations were found between cortical thickness and cognitive performance in both left and right hemispheres.
• In the left hemisphere, the inferior insula, superior frontal gyrus, and medial temporal regions showed strong correlations with multiple cognitive domains.
• The right hemisphere's superior parietal lobule exhibited the strongest associations across attention, memory, and spatial processing tasks.

Conclusions:

• The identified regional cortical thickness variations are linked to specific cognitive deficits in MS, suggesting pathophysiological rather than physiological dependencies.
• These findings offer valuable insights for the diagnosis and rehabilitation of cognitive impairments in MS.
• The study provides guidance for future MRI-based research in Multiple Sclerosis cognitive dysfunction.