https://doi.org/10.15344/2455-3867/2019/163
Abstract
Objective: Functional magnetic resonance imaging, largely used to investigate neuroplasticity related to cognition in Multiple Sclerosis, has been seldom employed to investigate functional correlates of Cognitive Reserve-the result of people’s education and lifetime cultural enrichment - known to mitigate cognitive decline. The current investigation aims to investigate functional correlates of Cognitive Reserve and cognitive impairment in Multiple Sclerosis.
Methods: Cognitive Reserve Index and Cognitive Impairment Index were measured in 20 MS patients and 13 healthy controls and correlated with the cortical activations obtained during an event related MRI.
Results: A direct correlation between Cognitive Impairment Index and cortical activations in several regions of interest (left inferior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule and middle cingulated gyrus) and an inverse correlation between Cognitive Reserve Index and activations in the middle cingulated cortex, the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right inferior parietal lobule were found.
Conclusions: The different patterns of functional activations found may be interpreted as a loss of compensatory mechanisms in cognitively impaired patients due to MS pathology and as greater efficiency in patients with higher cognitive reserve. This underlines the different meaning that functional MRI results may represent.