LEAD

Spontaneous and induced cerebral plasticity during autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking performance in relapsing-remitting
multiple sclerosis patients

Based on a dual approach featuring clinical neuropsychology and neuroimaging, we aimed: (i) to study relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients presenting with autobiographical memory (AM) and episodic future thinking (EFT) impairment, and (ii) to improve AM and EFT functioning in the same patients.
We showed that both AM and EFT impairments were expressed by spontaneous brain activity changes in key brain regions of the AM and EFT networks in patients, relatively to healthy controls. Then, we documented that the use of a mental visual imagery (MVI)-based facilitation programme led to AM and EFT improvement, which was not attributable to nursing or learning effects. This clinical benefit was accompanied by an increased reliance on distinct key brain regions of the core AM and EFT network.
Overall, we documented the effectiveness of our cognitive facilitation programme for AM and EFT, as well as the occurrence of spontaneous and induced brain plasticity changes during AM and EFT performance in RR-MS patients, which were sustained by both common and distinct cerebral mechanisms.