Imaging cognitive reserve in MS

摘要

Previous studies in Alzheimer's disease and MS patients have demonstrated that higher levels of intellectual enrichment provide a cognitive reserve, which allows patients to withstand more disease-related damage before suffering from cognitive impairment. This study used functional MRI to explore the patterns of brain activation in patients with varying levels of intellectual enrichment.A total of 18 patients with MS were enrolled in the study. Estimates of brain atrophy, intellectual enrichment and current cognitive status were obtained for each patient. Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI of brain activations were studied in response to the n-back working memory task using 0-back, 1-back and 2-back levels (with the cognitive demand increasing for each level).