Abstract
Vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND) is a condition at risk for future dementia and should be the target of preventive strategies. Recently, an enhanced intracortical facilitation observed in VCI-ND patients was proposed as a candidate neurophysiological marker of the disease process. The aim of this study was to monitor the excitability of the motor cortex and the functioning of excitatory/inhibitory intracortical circuits in patients with VCI-ND after a follow-up period of approximately 2 years, in order to pick out early markers of disease progression into dementia. Nine patients and 9 age-matched controls were re-evaluated for single and paired pulse TMS measures of cortical excitability, as well as for neuropsycological and functional assessment. Compared to the first evaluation, patients showed a decrease of the median resting motor threshold (rMT). Patients exhibited a significant worsening at Stroop Color-Word Test Interference scores without substantial functional impairment. Our study represents the first evidence of a decrease of rMT in VCI-ND patients during the progression of cognitive impairment. This result might be considered an index of motor cortex plasticity and interpreted as a compensatory mechanism for the loss of motor cortex neurons.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 155-159 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Neuroscience Letters |
| Volume | 534 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 8 2013 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Executive dysfunction
- Motor threshold
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation
- Vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
TMS follow-up study in patients with vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia. / Bella, Rita; Ferri, Raffaele; Lanza, Giuseppe; Cantone, Mariagiovanna; Pennisi, Manuela; Puglisi, Valentina; Vinciguerra, Luisa; Spampinato, Concetto; Mazza, Tommaso; Malaguarnera, Giulia; Pennisi, Giovanni.
In: Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 534, No. 1, 08.02.2013, p. 155-159.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - TMS follow-up study in patients with vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia
AU - Bella, Rita
AU - Ferri, Raffaele
AU - Lanza, Giuseppe
AU - Cantone, Mariagiovanna
AU - Pennisi, Manuela
AU - Puglisi, Valentina
AU - Vinciguerra, Luisa
AU - Spampinato, Concetto
AU - Mazza, Tommaso
AU - Malaguarnera, Giulia
AU - Pennisi, Giovanni
PY - 2013/2/8
Y1 - 2013/2/8
N2 - Vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND) is a condition at risk for future dementia and should be the target of preventive strategies. Recently, an enhanced intracortical facilitation observed in VCI-ND patients was proposed as a candidate neurophysiological marker of the disease process. The aim of this study was to monitor the excitability of the motor cortex and the functioning of excitatory/inhibitory intracortical circuits in patients with VCI-ND after a follow-up period of approximately 2 years, in order to pick out early markers of disease progression into dementia. Nine patients and 9 age-matched controls were re-evaluated for single and paired pulse TMS measures of cortical excitability, as well as for neuropsycological and functional assessment. Compared to the first evaluation, patients showed a decrease of the median resting motor threshold (rMT). Patients exhibited a significant worsening at Stroop Color-Word Test Interference scores without substantial functional impairment. Our study represents the first evidence of a decrease of rMT in VCI-ND patients during the progression of cognitive impairment. This result might be considered an index of motor cortex plasticity and interpreted as a compensatory mechanism for the loss of motor cortex neurons.
AB - Vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND) is a condition at risk for future dementia and should be the target of preventive strategies. Recently, an enhanced intracortical facilitation observed in VCI-ND patients was proposed as a candidate neurophysiological marker of the disease process. The aim of this study was to monitor the excitability of the motor cortex and the functioning of excitatory/inhibitory intracortical circuits in patients with VCI-ND after a follow-up period of approximately 2 years, in order to pick out early markers of disease progression into dementia. Nine patients and 9 age-matched controls were re-evaluated for single and paired pulse TMS measures of cortical excitability, as well as for neuropsycological and functional assessment. Compared to the first evaluation, patients showed a decrease of the median resting motor threshold (rMT). Patients exhibited a significant worsening at Stroop Color-Word Test Interference scores without substantial functional impairment. Our study represents the first evidence of a decrease of rMT in VCI-ND patients during the progression of cognitive impairment. This result might be considered an index of motor cortex plasticity and interpreted as a compensatory mechanism for the loss of motor cortex neurons.
KW - Executive dysfunction
KW - Motor threshold
KW - Transcranial magnetic stimulation
KW - Vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84873055200&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84873055200&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.12.017
DO - 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.12.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 23274709
AN - SCOPUS:84873055200
VL - 534
SP - 155
EP - 159
JO - Neuroscience Letters
JF - Neuroscience Letters
SN - 0304-3940
IS - 1
ER -