title: Longitudinal fMRI studies: Exploring brain plasticity and repair in MS.
abstract: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has greatly advanced our understanding of cerebral functional changes occurring in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, most of our knowledge regarding brain plasticity and repair in MS as evidenced by fMRI has been extrapolated from cross-sectional studies across different phenotypes of the disease. This topical review provides an overview of this research, but also highlights limitations of existing fMRI studies with cross-sectional design. We then review the few existing longitudinal fMRI studies and discuss the feasibility and constraints of serial fMRI in individuals with MS. We further emphasize the potential to track fMRI changes in evolving disease and the insights this may give in terms of mechanisms of adaptation and repair, focusing on serial fMRI to monitor response to disease-modifying therapies or rehabilitation interventions. Finally, we offer recommendations for designing future research studies to overcome previous methodological shortcomings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria/Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria chris.enzinger@medunigraz.at.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Enzinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pinter
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit and Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.affiliation: Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology-Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia (Cemcat), Edifici Cemcat, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sastre-Garriga
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille University, National Center for Scientific Research, Center for Magnetic Resonance in Biology and Medicine UMR 7339; Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurosciences, Timone University Hospital, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Audoin
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit and Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippi
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity
keywords: Multiple sclerosis; brain plasticity; brain repair; fMRI; longitudinal