Brain activation patterns and cognitive processing speed in patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis

ABSTRACTObjective: This study aimed to determine the extent and pattern of brain activation elicited by a functional magnetic resonance imaging version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (fMRI–SDMT), a task of information processing speed, in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as compared to sex- and age-matched non-MS self-reported healthy individuals. Method: Participants included 20 right-handed individuals aged 13–24 years with pediatric-onset MS (mean age = 19 years, 15 female) and 16 non-MS self-reported healthy individuals. All participants underwent a 3.0-tesla MRI scan with structural (T1; T2; proton density, PD; fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, FLAIR) and fMRI–SDMT acquisition. Participants were instructed to indicate with a button press whether a single pairing of a symbol to a number matched any of those shown in a key that displays nine possible pairings. Results: Response time (p = .909) and accuracy (p = .832) on the fMRI–SDMT did not differ between groups. However, the M...