Frontoparietal connectivity correlates with working memory performance in multiple sclerosis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 9310 - 13
• Main Authors: Figueroa-Vargas, Alejandra, Cárcamo, Claudia, Henríquez-Ch, Rodrigo, Zamorano, Francisco, Ciampi, Ethel, Uribe-San-Martin, Reinaldo, Vásquez, Macarena, Aboitiz, Francisco, Billeke, Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.06.2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378/2649; 692/617/375/1411/1666; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Cognitive ability; EEG; Electroencephalography; Female; Frontal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Male; Memory; Memory Disorders - diagnostic imaging; Memory Disorders - etiology; Memory Disorders - physiopathology; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; multidisciplinary; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Multiple Sclerosis - physiopathology; Multiple Sclerosis - psychology; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - diagnostic imaging; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - etiology; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - physiopathology; Neural networks; Parietal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Parietal Lobe - physiopathology; Reaction Time; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Short term memory; Temporal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Temporal Lobe - physiopathology; Therapeutic applications
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66279-0

Working Memory (WM) impairment is the most common cognitive deficit of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, evidence of its neurobiological mechanisms is scarce. Here we recorded electroencephalographic activity of twenty patients with relapsing-remitting MS and minimal cognitive deficit, and 20 healthy control (HC) subjects while they solved a WM task. In spite of similar performance, the HC group demonstrated both a correlation between temporoparietal theta activity and memory load, and a correlation between medial frontal theta activity and successful memory performances. MS patients did not show theses correlations leading significant differences between groups. Moreover, cortical connectivity analyses using granger causality and phase-amplitude coupling between theta and gamma revealed that HC group, but not MS group, presented a load-modulated progression of the frontal-to-parietal connectivity. This connectivity correlated with working memory capacity in MS groups. This early alterations in the oscillatory dynamics underlaying working memory could be useful for plan therapeutic interventions.