Abstract #3313

Reduced Resting-State Connectivity in the Brain's Default Mode Network in Patients with Mild Forms of Relapsing-Remitting MS

Michael Amann^1,2, Jochen Gunther Hirsch^1,2, Lea Sybil Doessegger³, Iris Katherina Penner³, Katrin Weier², Ernst Wilhelm Radue¹, Ludwig Kappos², Achim Gass^1,2

¹Neuroradiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland; ²Neurology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland; ³Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland

In this work, we investigated resting state connectivity in brains default mode network in order to evaluate whether altered connectivity may be present in patients with mild forms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS). Differences in functional connectivity to posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were calculated in two different ways. Both in voxel based and in ROI analysis, we found reduced strength of connectivity (p<0.05) to PCC in anterior cingulate cortex and in an adjacent part of medial frontal gyrus for RR-MS patients compared to healthy controls.