Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Mult Scler. 2011 Jan;17(1):103-15. doi: 10.1177/1352458510381257. Epub 2010 Sep 10.
Several studies have demonstrated benefits of rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the neuroscientific foundations for rehabilitation in MS are poorly established.
As rehabilitation and motor learning share similar mechanisms of brain plasticity, we test whether the dynamics of skill learning are preserved in MS patients relative to controls.
MS patients and controls learned a repeating sequence of hand movements and were assessed for short-term learning. Long-term learning was tested in another cohort of patients and controls practising the same sequence daily for two weeks.
Despite differences in baseline performance, the dynamics and extent of improvements were comparable between MS and control groups for both the short- and long-term learning. Even the most severely damaged patients were capable of performance improvements of similar magnitude to that seen in controls. After one week of training patients performed as well as the controls at baseline.
Mechanisms for short- and long-term plasticity may compensate for impaired functional connectivity in MS to mediate behavioural improvements. Future studies are needed to define the neurobiological substrates of this plasticity and the extent to which mechanisms of plasticity in patients may be distinct from those used for motor learning in controls.
多项研究已经证明康复对多发性硬化症（MS）有多种益处。然而，MS 康复的神经科学基础尚未得到充分确立。
由于康复和运动学习具有相似的大脑可塑性机制，我们测试了 MS 患者相对于对照组是否保留了技能学习的动态。
MS 患者和对照组学习重复的手部运动序列，并评估短期学习情况。另一组患者和对照组则在两周内每天练习相同的序列，以测试长期学习。
尽管基线表现存在差异，但 MS 和对照组在短期和长期学习中，改善的动态和程度相当。即使是受损最严重的患者，其表现改善的幅度也与对照组相似。经过一周的训练，患者的表现与对照组在基线时一样好。
短期和长期可塑性的机制可能会补偿 MS 中功能连接的损伤，从而介导行为改善。未来的研究需要确定这种可塑性的神经生物学基础，以及患者的可塑性机制在多大程度上与对照组用于运动学习的机制不同。
