title: [Structural and functional changes of the hippocampus in patients with multiple sclerosis and their relationship with memory processes].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the most prevalent cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients relates to (both verbal and visual) information encoding, a process related the hippocampus.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between information learning and long-term retention processes and hippocampal volume and functional connectivity (FC) in MS patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  MS patients and a control group of healthy volunteers were assessed using the brief neuro-psychological battery, which includes tests of verbal and visual memory. Gray matter volume was assessed through the voxel based morphometry technique, and a study of seed-based FC focused on the region of ??interest (hippocampus) was also conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results revealed that, as compared to the control group, MS patients display gray matter atrophy at the left hippocampus gray matter and smaller FC between left hippocampus and brainstem, cerebellum, fusiform gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. Association analyses were performed between memory tests performance and both volumetric and FC changes. Results showed a positive correlation between gray matter hippocampal (bilateral) volume and verbal memory performance of the MS group. Further, in MS patients, a positive correlation between visual memory performance and FC between the left hippocampus and several temporal regions was also found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study reveal a relationship between structural and functional changes in the hippocampus of MS patients and their performance on verbal and visual memory tests.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Jaume I, 12071 Castello de la Plana, Espana.
authors.forename: Álvaro J
authors.initials: ÁJ
authors.lastname: Cruz-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Hospital General de Castellon, 12004 Castello de la Plana, Espana.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belenguer-Benavides
authors.affiliation: Universidad Jaume I, 12071 Castello de la Plana, Espana.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martínez-Bronchal
authors.affiliation: Universidad Jaume I, 12071 Castello de la Plana, Espana.
authors.forename: M Sol
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fittipaldi-Márquez
authors.affiliation: Universidad Jaume I, 12071 Castello de la Plana, Espana.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Forn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult