Adaptive Plasticity Following Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis
Adaptive Plasticity Following Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis
Motor learning can induce significant changes in the human brain through neural plasticity
 processes, which play a crucial role in the brain functional reorganization in response to
 external stimuli and/or to pathological conditions. For example, people with multiple
 sclerosis present motor deficits often associated with cerebral activity alteration. However,
 whether these brain activation changes contribute to or protect against motor performance
 deficits still needs to be determined.

 Moreover, rehabilitation protocols could be designed to obtain efficient brain adaptation to
 preserve patients' outcome, but consistent data on the real efficacy of rehabilitative
 procedures are lacking, in particular concerning the rehabilitation effect on brain networks.

 Therefore, this project focuses on the degree to which imaging measures of functional brain
 activity can give new hints on the effects of motor rehabilitative protocols in multiple
 sclerosis patients' performance. Particularly, the investigator's aim is to investigate the
 effects of upper limb rehabilitation, focused on hand motor function, and the correlation
 between motor performance and functional magnetic resonance data.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Multiple sclerosis diagnosis according to McDonald criteria

 -  right handedness as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory

 -  absence of relapses in the last three months

 -  mild or moderate sensorimotor impairment in one or both upper limbs as evaluated by
 means of the Medical Research Council scale (grade 3-4)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  steroid-use or a worsening of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score in the
 last three months

 -  psychiatric disorders

 -  severe cognitive impairment

 -  magnetic resonance imaging contraindications