Longitudinal Increases in Cerebral Brain Activation During Working Memory Performance in Friedreich Ataxia: 24-Month Data from IMAGE-FRDA.

Longitudinal Increases in Cerebral Brain Activation During Working Memory Performance in Friedreich Ataxia: 24-Month Data from IMAGE-FRDA. Cerebellum. 2020 Jan 02;: Authors: Shishegar R, Harding IH, Corben LA, Delatycki MB, Storey E, Egan GF, Georgiou-Karistianis N Abstract Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) has been associated with functional abnormalities in cerebral and cerebellar networks, particularly in the ventral attention network. However, how functional alterations change with disease progression remains largely unknown. Longitudinal changes in brain activation, associated with working memory performance (N-back task), and grey matter volume were assessed over 24 months in 21 individuals with FRDA and 28 healthy controls using functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Participants also completed a neurocognitive battery assessing working memory (digit span), executive function (Stroop, Haylings), and set-shifting (Trail Making Test). Individuals with FRDA displayed significantly increased brain activation over 24 months in ventral attention brain regions, including bilateral insula and inferior frontal gyrus (pars triangularis and pars opercularis), compared with controls, but there was no difference in working memory (N-back) performance between groups. Moreover, there were no significant differences in grey matter volume changes between groups. Significant correlations between brain activations and both ...
Source: Cerebellum - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Cerebellum Source Type: research