title: Increased regional gray matter atrophy and enhanced functional connectivity in male multiple sclerosis patients.
abstract: Evidence suggests that sex/gender is an important factor for understanding multiple sclerosis (MS) and that some of its neuropathological consequences might manifest earlier in males. In the present study, we assessed gray matter (GM) volume and functional connectivity (FC) in a sample of female and male MS patients (MSp) and female and male healthy controls (HCs). As compared to female MSp, male MSp showed decreased GM volume in the bilateral frontal areas and increased FC between different brain regions. Because both sets of changes correlated significantly and no differences in cognitive performance were observed, we suggest that the FC increase observed in male MSp acts as a compensatory mechanism for their more extensive GM loss and that it promotes a functional convergence between male- and female-MSp.
authors.affiliation: Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicología Bàsica, Clínica i Psicobiología, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanchis-Segura
authors.affiliation: Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicología Bàsica, Clínica i Psicobiología, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cruz-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General de Castellón, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belenguer
authors.affiliation: Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicología Bàsica, Clínica i Psicobiología, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fittipaldi Márquez
authors.affiliation: Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicología Bàsica, Clínica i Psicobiología, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ávila
authors.affiliation: Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicología Bàsica, Clínica i Psicobiología, Castelló de la Plana, Spain. Electronic address: forn@uji.es.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Forn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognition; Functional connectivity; Gender; Magnetic resonance imaging; Multiple sclerosis; Voxel-based morphometry