Short-term adaptation to a simple motor task: a physiological process preserved in multiple sclerosis.
Short-term adaptation indicates the attenuation of the functional MRI (fMRI) response during repeated task execution. It is considered to be a physiological process, but it is unknown whether short-term adaptation changes significantly in patients with brain disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to investigate short-term adaptation during a repeated right-hand tapping task in both controls and in patients with MS, we analyzed the fMRI data collected in a large cohort of controls and MS patients who were recruited into a multi-centre European fMRI study. Four fMRI runs were acquired for each of the 55 controls and 56 MS patients at baseline and 33 controls and 26 MS patients at 1-year follow-up. The externally cued (1 Hz) right hand tapping movement was limited to 3 cm amplitude by using at all sites (7 at baseline and 6 at follow-up) identically manufactured wooden frames. No significant differences in cerebral activation were found between sites. Furthermore, our results showed linear response adaptation (i.e. reduced activation) from run 1 to run 4 (over a 25 minute period) in the primary motor area (contralateral more than ipsilateral), in the supplementary motor area and in the primary sensory cortex, sensory-motor cortex and cerebellum, bilaterally. This linear activation decay was the same in both control and patient groups, did not change between baseline and 1-year follow-up and was not influenced by the modest disease progression observed over 1 year. These findings confirm that the short-term adaptation to a simple motor task is a physiological process which is preserved in MS.
Mancini
L
L
Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. l.mancini@ion.ucl.ac.uk
Ciccarelli
O
O
Manfredonia
F
F
Thornton
J S
JS
Agosta
F
F
Barkhof
F
F
Beckmann
C
C
De Stefano
N
N
Enzinger
C
C
Fazekas
F
F
Filippi
M
M
Gass
A
A
Hirsch
J G
JG
Johansen-Berg
H
H
Kappos
L
L
Korteweg
T
T
Manson
S C
SC
Marino
S
S
Matthews
P M
PM
Montalban
X
X
Palace
J
J
Polman
C
C
Rocca
M
M
Ropele
S
S
Rovira
A
A
Wegner
C
C
Friston
K
K
Thompson
A
A
Yousry
T
T
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills; D009068:Movement; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult