Background: In multiple sclerosis (MS), pathophysiology of fatigue is only partially known. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the attention-induced modulation on shortand long-term cortical plasticity mechanisms in primary motor area (M1) is abnormal in patients with MS-related fatigue. Methods: All participants underwent 5-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), reflecting short-term plasticity, and paired associative stimulation (PAS), reflecting long-term plasticity, and were asked to focus their attention on the hand contralateral to the M1 stimulated. A group of agematched healthy subjects acted as control. Results: In patients with MS, 5-Hz rTMS and PAS failed to induce the normal increase in motor-evoked potential (MEP). During the attention-demanding condition, 5-Hz rTMS- and PAS-induced responses differed in patients with MS with and without fatigue. Whereas in patients with fatigue neither technique induced the attention-induced MEP increase, in patients without fatigue they both increased the MEP response, although they did so less efficiently than in healthy subjects. Attention-induced changes in short-term cortical plasticity inversely correlated with fatigue severity. Conclusion: Short-term and long-term plasticity mechanisms are abnormal in MS possibly owing to widespread changes in ion-channel expression. Fatigue in MS reflects disrupted cortical attentional networks related to movement control.

Attention-related changes in short-term cortical plasticity help to explain fatigue in multiple sclerosis / Conte, Antonella; LI VOTI, Pietro; Pontecorvo, Simona; Quartuccio, MARIA ESMERALDA; Baione, Viola; Rocchi, Lorenzo; Cortese, Antonio; Bologna, Matteo; Francia, Ada; Berardelli, Alfredo. - In: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. - ISSN 1352-4585. - 22:10(2016), pp. 1359-1366. [10.1177/1352458515619780]

Attention-related changes in short-term cortical plasticity help to explain fatigue in multiple sclerosis

CONTE, ANTONELLA;LI VOTI, PIETRO;PONTECORVO, SIMONA;QUARTUCCIO, MARIA ESMERALDA;BAIONE, VIOLA;CORTESE, ANTONIO;BOLOGNA, Matteo;FRANCIA, Ada;BERARDELLI, Alfredo
2016

Abstract

Background: In multiple sclerosis (MS), pathophysiology of fatigue is only partially known. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the attention-induced modulation on shortand long-term cortical plasticity mechanisms in primary motor area (M1) is abnormal in patients with MS-related fatigue. Methods: All participants underwent 5-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), reflecting short-term plasticity, and paired associative stimulation (PAS), reflecting long-term plasticity, and were asked to focus their attention on the hand contralateral to the M1 stimulated. A group of agematched healthy subjects acted as control. Results: In patients with MS, 5-Hz rTMS and PAS failed to induce the normal increase in motor-evoked potential (MEP). During the attention-demanding condition, 5-Hz rTMS- and PAS-induced responses differed in patients with MS with and without fatigue. Whereas in patients with fatigue neither technique induced the attention-induced MEP increase, in patients without fatigue they both increased the MEP response, although they did so less efficiently than in healthy subjects. Attention-induced changes in short-term cortical plasticity inversely correlated with fatigue severity. Conclusion: Short-term and long-term plasticity mechanisms are abnormal in MS possibly owing to widespread changes in ion-channel expression. Fatigue in MS reflects disrupted cortical attentional networks related to movement control.
2016
multiple sclerosis; fatigue; attention; 5-hz rtms; paired associative stimulation; cortical plasticity
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Attention-related changes in short-term cortical plasticity help to explain fatigue in multiple sclerosis / Conte, Antonella; LI VOTI, Pietro; Pontecorvo, Simona; Quartuccio, MARIA ESMERALDA; Baione, Viola; Rocchi, Lorenzo; Cortese, Antonio; Bologna, Matteo; Francia, Ada; Berardelli, Alfredo. - In: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. - ISSN 1352-4585. - 22:10(2016), pp. 1359-1366. [10.1177/1352458515619780]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Conte_attention-related-changes_2016.pdf

solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Documento in Post-print (versione successiva alla peer review e accettata per la pubblicazione)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 859.86 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
859.86 kB Adobe PDF   Contatta l'autore

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/884754
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 8
  • Scopus 23
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 21
social impact