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Case-Based fMRI Analysis after Cognitive Rehabilitation in MS: A Novel Approach
Hubacher M, Kappos L, Weier K, Stöcklin M, Opwis K, Penner IK.. Frontiers in neurology, 2015-04-08
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS) negatively impacts patients' everyday functioning and quality of life. Since symptomatic pharmacological treatment is not yet available alternative treatment strategies such as cognitive rehabilitation are of particular interest. Objectives To analyse the ways in which MS patients respond to cognitive training, by combining behavioral and fMRI data in a case-based triangulation approach. Methods Ten relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients aged between 39 and 58 years and between 1 and 8 years post MS diagnosis were included. EDSS ranged from 1 to 3.5. Participants had normal to high intelligence levels. Six patients were assigned to the training group (TG) and four to the control group (CG) without intervention. The TG received a 4-week computerized working memory (WM) training, consisting of 16 training sessions of 45 min duration each. Before and after the training a neuropsychological examination and fMRI investigation by using an N-back task of different complexity was applied. Results Patients in the TG responded differently to cognitive training. Four participants did not meet the triangulation criteria for being treatment responders. The two responders showed two distinct changes regarding activation patterns after training: (I) decreased brain activation associated with increased processing speed and (II) increased brain activation associated with higher processing speed and WM performance. Conclusion The occurrence of different and opposed response patterns after the same training indicates a risk in applying classical group statistics. Different and especially opposed patterns within the same sample may distort results of classical statistical comparisons. Thus, underlying processes may not be discovered and lead to misinterpretation of results.
Key findings
- Results Patients in the TG responded differently to cognitive training.
- The two responders showed two distinct changes regarding activation patterns after training: (I) decreased brain activation associated with increased processing speed and (II) increased brain activation associated with higher processing speed and WM performance.
- Different and especially opposed patterns within the same sample may distort results of classical statistical comparisons.
- Thus, underlying processes may not be discovered and lead to misinterpretation of results.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25904893) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Hubacher, M., Kappos, L., Weier, K., Stöcklin, M., Opwis, K., & Penner, I. K. (2015). Case-Based fMRI Analysis after Cognitive Rehabilitation in MS: A Novel Approach. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2015.00078
Vancouver
Hubacher M, Kappos L, Weier K, Stöcklin M, Opwis K, Penner IK. Case-Based fMRI Analysis after Cognitive Rehabilitation in MS: A Novel Approach. Frontiers in neurology. 2015. doi:10.3389/fneur.2015.00078. PMID: 25904893.
BibTeX
@article{hubacher2015-25904893,
author = {Hubacher, M. and Kappos, L. and Weier, K. and Stöcklin, M. and Opwis, K. and Penner, I. K.},
title = {{Case-Based fMRI Analysis after Cognitive Rehabilitation in MS: A Novel Approach}},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.3389/fneur.2015.00078},
pmid = {25904893},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2015.00078}
}
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