title: Brain activation patterns elicited by the 'Faces Symbol Test' -- a pilot fMRI study.
abstract: The Faces Symbol Test (FST) has recently been proposed as a brief and patient-friendly screening instrument for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, in contrast to well-established MS screening tests such as the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, the neural correlates of the FST have not been investigated so far. In the present study, we developed a functional MRI (fMRI) version of the FST to provide first data on brain regions and networks involved in this test. A sample of 19 healthy participants completed a version of the FST adapted for fMRI, requiring matching of faces and symbols in a multiple choice test and two further experimental conditions drawing on cognitive subcomponents (face matching and symbol matching). Imaging data showed a differential involvement of a fronto-parieto-occipital network in the three conditions. The most demanding FST condition elicited brain activation patterns related with sustained attention and executive control. These results suggest that the FST recruits brain networks critical for higher-order cognitive functions often impaired in MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria, Section of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Rh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grabner
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Popotnig
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ropele
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neuper
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gorani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petrovic
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ebner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strasser-Fuchs
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fazekas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Enzinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects