Contributions
Abstract: EP1817
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Therapy - symptomatic - 33 Treatment of specific symptoms
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is increasingly being recommended to promote cognitive health in people with MS (PwMS). A higher level of MVPA in PwMS is associated with improved information processing efficiency, especially in those with lower disease severity scores. However, the construct of information processing efficiency, including both working memory and processing speed is poorly defined, leading to challenges in interpreting these results for PwMS. In the current study, our goal was to examine the differential contributions of MVPA and sedentary behavior in explaining variance in the constructs of working memory and processing speed in PwMS. Forty-four individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis were recruited for the current study. All participants were administered the subtests comprising the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-IV) to quantify theoretically sound metrics of working memory and processing speed, respectively. Additionally, all participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer for a 7-day period, which was then used to quantify both MVPA and sedentary behavior. Our results provided evidence for a double dissociation in the associations between physical activity, sedentary behavior and cognitive functioning. Specifically, MVPA was associated with the Working Memory Index, specifically the mental manipulation cluster, such that a higher level of MVPA in PwMS was associated with better performance on tasks of working memory. In contrast, sedentary behavior in PwMS was negatively associated with the Processing Speed Index, such that higher engagement in sedentary behavior was associated with poor performance on measures of processing speed. Future directions for the study include analyzing resting-state data on all participants using graph theory methodology to determine neural correlates of the observed associations. Given the physical limitations experienced by PwMS, these results evince support for the importance of both MVPA as well as reduced sedentary behavior in promoting cognitive health in MS.
Disclosure:
Ruchika Prakash: nothing to disclose
Alisha Janssen: nothing to disclose
Heena Manglani: nothing to disclose
Abstract: EP1817
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Therapy - symptomatic - 33 Treatment of specific symptoms
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is increasingly being recommended to promote cognitive health in people with MS (PwMS). A higher level of MVPA in PwMS is associated with improved information processing efficiency, especially in those with lower disease severity scores. However, the construct of information processing efficiency, including both working memory and processing speed is poorly defined, leading to challenges in interpreting these results for PwMS. In the current study, our goal was to examine the differential contributions of MVPA and sedentary behavior in explaining variance in the constructs of working memory and processing speed in PwMS. Forty-four individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis were recruited for the current study. All participants were administered the subtests comprising the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-IV) to quantify theoretically sound metrics of working memory and processing speed, respectively. Additionally, all participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer for a 7-day period, which was then used to quantify both MVPA and sedentary behavior. Our results provided evidence for a double dissociation in the associations between physical activity, sedentary behavior and cognitive functioning. Specifically, MVPA was associated with the Working Memory Index, specifically the mental manipulation cluster, such that a higher level of MVPA in PwMS was associated with better performance on tasks of working memory. In contrast, sedentary behavior in PwMS was negatively associated with the Processing Speed Index, such that higher engagement in sedentary behavior was associated with poor performance on measures of processing speed. Future directions for the study include analyzing resting-state data on all participants using graph theory methodology to determine neural correlates of the observed associations. Given the physical limitations experienced by PwMS, these results evince support for the importance of both MVPA as well as reduced sedentary behavior in promoting cognitive health in MS.
Disclosure:
Ruchika Prakash: nothing to disclose
Alisha Janssen: nothing to disclose
Heena Manglani: nothing to disclose