Abstract: 183

Type: Oral

Abstract Category: Imaging

Background: Cerebellar dysfunction is one of the most disabling symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Recently, we demonstrated that a high intensity training with a videogame balance board (Nintendo Wii) is able to determine clinical improvement and to modify the microstructure of superior cerebellar peduncles in patients with MS. However, the effect of videogame balance board training on functional plasticity has not been investigated yet.

Objective: To explore cerebellar functional connectivity (FC) changes induced by a 12-week videogame balance board training in patients with MS.

Methods: Tweny-six patients with MS underwent a 12-week home-based training using the Wii balance board and were assessed by means of static posturography and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) with a 3.0-Tesla magnet before and after the training period. RS-fMRI data were analyzed using a seed-based method to identify the cerebellar resting-state network (RSN); bilateral dentate nuclei were used as seed regions. FMRI Data were analyzed using FSL software to assess FC changes after training and the correlations with clinical improvement.

Results: Increased FC wihin the cerebellar RSN was found after the 12-week videogame balance training in several brain areas, including the cerebellum, orbito-frontal, pre-frontal, temporal, and occipital cortices, and precuneus, bilaterally, as well as the right caudate nucleus (cluster-level p< 0.05, FWE corrected). Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the postural sway improvement and the increased FC in the vermis, right cerebellum, right prefrontal and occipital cortices, and in orbito-frontal and temporal cortices and caudate nucleus, bilaterally (p< 0.001, uncorrected).

Discussion: Our study shows that the videogame balance board training is able to modulate the FC of specific brain areas within the cerebellar RSN; the correlatation between FC increase and clinical improvement suggests that cerebellar FC modifications may be considered as a functional substrate for clinical improvement induced by the videogame balance board training patients with MS.

Disclosure:

This research was supported by the Italian MS Society-Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla (grant 2012/R/12).

Francesca Tona nothing to disclose

Luca Prosperini: consulting fees, and /or lecture fees, and/or travel grants from: Bayer Schering, Biogen Idec, Genzyme, Novartis and Teva.

Petsas Nicolaos: lecture fees Biogen Idec

Laura De Giglio: nothing to disclose

Sbardella Emilia: nothing to disclose

Giannì Costanza: nothing to disclose

Neeraj Upadhyay:nothing to disclose

Carlo Pozzilli: consulting and/or lecture fees and research grants and/or travel grants from Almirall, Biogen Idec, Bayer Schering, Merck Serono, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi Genzyme and Teva.

Patrizia Pantano: nothing to disclose