Abstract #4057

A randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of cognitive training in MS reveals functional connectivity changes

Ottavia Dipasquale^1,2, Jamie Campbell³, Camila Callegari Piccinin⁴, Dawn Langdon⁵, Waqar Rashid⁶, and Mara Cercignani³

¹IRCCS, Don Gnocchi Foundation, Milan, Italy, ²Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, ³Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom, ⁴Neuroimaging Laboratory, University of Campinas, Cidade Universitária, Campinas, Brazil, ⁵Psychology Department, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, United Kingdom, ⁶Department of Neurology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, United Kingdom

We investigated the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) changes induced after 6 weeks of computerised, home-based cognitive rehabilitation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a randomized controlled trial. The intervention and control groups were evaluated at baseline (T1), after a 6-week intervention period (T2) and a 12-week follow-up period (T3). Out of the 94 regions investigated, many memory-, attention- and motor-related areas strengthened their FC at T2 and T3 in the intervention group. This study supports the hypothesis that this cognitive rehabilitation is a feasible and effective approach in patients with MS and confirms that rfMRI is a useful tool for mapping plastic changes.

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