Maria A. Rocca1, Paola Valsasina, Paolo Preziosa, Gianna Riccitelli, Vittorio Martinelli2, Andrea Falini3, Giancarlo Comi2, Massimo Filippi
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, Italy; 2Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; 3Department of Neuroradiology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
In this study, we assessed functional connectivity (FC) at resting state (RS) within and among cognitive networks in 30 healthy controls, 30 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and 30 patients with secondary progressive MS. Decreased FC was present in frontal, temporal, parahippocampal and cerebellar regions of all cognitive RS networks, whereas increased FC was found only in the anterior cingulate cortex of the executive control network. Such abnormalities were detected in both patient groups, and they were more evident in the progressive form of the disease, as well as in patients with cognitive impairment.
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