Multiple sclerosis lesions affect intrinsic functional connectivity of the spinal cord.

ABSTRACT: Patients with multiple sclerosis present with focal lesions throughout the spinal cord. There is a clinical need for non-invasive measurements of spinal cord activity and functional organization in multiple sclerosis, given the cord's critical role in the disease. Recent reports of spontaneous blood oxygenation level-dependent fluctuations in the spinal cord using functional MRI suggest that, like the brain, cord activity at rest is organized into distinct, synchronized functional networks among grey matter regions, likely related to motor and sensory systems. Previous studies looking at stimulus-evoked activity in the spinal cord of patients with multiple sclerosis have demonstrated increased levels of activation as well as a more bilateral distribution of activity compared to controls. F

SUBMITTER: Conrad BN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5972586 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature