Energy Associated With Dynamic Network Changes in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Cognitive Impairment

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently causes cognitive impairment.
• Cognitive impairment in MS is linked to brain structural and functional changes.
• The impact of altered functional brain network dynamics on cognitive function in MS remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify dynamic functional network patterns associated with cognitive impairment in MS.
• Investigate if altered energy costs explain these network patterns in cognitively impaired (CI) MS patients.
• Determine the relationship between network transitions and cognitive status in MS.

Main Methods:

• Utilized resting-state functional and diffusion MRI from the Amsterdam MS cohort.
• Classified MS patients into cognitively impaired (CI), mildly CI (MCI), and cognitively preserved (CP) groups.
• Analyzed functional connectivity states using k-means clustering and calculated transition control energy via network control theory.

Main Results:

• CI MS patients exhibited less frequent transitions between functional connectivity states compared to CP individuals.
• A significant decrease in transitions from the default mode network state to the visual network state was observed in CI patients.
• Cognitively impaired MS patients required greater control energy for state transitions, particularly for maintaining specific states.

Conclusions:

• Higher energy costs for dynamic network reconfiguration may underlie reduced state transitions in cognitively impaired MS patients.
• Impaired transitions, especially from default mode to visual networks, are relevant to cognitive function in MS.
• Longitudinal studies are recommended to understand the progression of these network disturbances across disease stages.