Resting-state functional connectivity correlates of gait and turning performance in multiple sclerosis: a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently causes mobility impairments, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not fully understood.
• Resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) may offer insights into these neurological deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in rs-FC between people with MS (PwMS) and healthy controls.
• To correlate rs-FC with spatiotemporal mobility performance, focusing on gait and turning metrics.

Main Methods:

• fMRI data from 29 PwMS and 28 controls were analyzed using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) and seed-to-voxel analyses.
• Participants performed walking tests, 180° turns, and 360° in-place turns at varying speeds.
• Analyses focused on gait speed, stride length, turn duration, and turn angle.

Main Results:

• PwMS showed slower gait speed, shorter stride length, and impaired 360° turning compared to controls.
• rs-FC differences were observed across default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), somatomotor (SN), and visual (VIS) networks.
• 360° turn angle demonstrated significant within-group rs-FC associations, particularly involving the ventral attention (VAN) and dorsal attention (DAN) networks.

Conclusions:

• Mobility impairments in MS are associated with altered rs-FC within key brain networks.
• 360° turning is a sensitive measure for detecting functional neural differences in PwMS.
• These findings underscore the importance of assessing turning for understanding MS-related neurological changes.