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- Title
(REH30) Cognitive Processing Speed as a Predictor of Motor Skill Learning in Healthy Adults and Persons with Multiple Sclerosis.
- Authors
Edwards, Erin M.; Fritz, Nora E.
- Abstract
Background: Motor and cognitive deficits are frequently reported in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), resulting in a high incidence of rehabilitation enrollment. Presently, there is no way to predict whether a patient will benefit from a specific rehabilitation program and factors mediating exercise responsiveness in MS remain unknown. Objectives: This study aims to determine baseline cognitive and pathological predictors of an individual's ability to benefit from a balance-training program. We hypothesized that faster processing speed and increased myelin water fraction (MWF) in brain regions related to balance at baseline would result in greater automaticity at the trained task, as measured by the change in dual-task cost (DTC) following training. Methods: Four healthy participants and 1 participant with MS (1 male, 4 female; age 40 ± 14.3 year) underwent a magnetic resonance imaging examination and 4 consecutive days of balance training on the Neurocom Basic Balance Master. Each day involved a single session of twenty 2-minute blocks; participants performed weight shifts on a force platform in response to targets on a screen. Participants were evaluated pre- and post-training on their ability to perform a dual-task (Limit of Stability Test + N-back Test). Results: Following training, all participants demonstrated improvements in reaction time (14%), velocity (34%), directional control (5%), and target accuracy (6%) on the challenging balance task. Reductions in DTC were seen across individuals, suggesting lower extremity motor skill training is feasible. Faster baseline processing speed on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test predicted reduced motor DTC in velocity (r = 0.671, 95% CI -1.00, 0.00) and directional control (r = 0.783, 95% CI 0.11, 1.00) following training. Lastly, MWF values across brain regions related to balance were lower in the participant with MS compared to age-matched healthy controls. Conclusions: Data collection is ongoing; processing speed holds promise as a baseline indicator of the ability to benefit from a motor learning paradigm targeting postural control and balance. Given that demyelination is the pathologic hallmark of MS, and the MWF of the participant with MS is lower, our myelin water imaging data display feasibility to distinguish myelin-specific changes that may reflect exercise responsiveness. Identifying key variables associated with successful recovery of motor skills is a promising driving-force for improvements in the field of neurorehabilitation.
- Subjects
COGNITION; CONFERENCES &; conventions; HEALTH status indicators; LEARNING; MOTOR ability; MULTIPLE sclerosis
- Publication
International Journal of MS Care, 2020, Vol 22, Issue S2, p76
- ISSN
1537-2073
- Publication type
Article