Compensatory Cognition

From: <a href="https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2015/11/27/fatigue-multiple-sclerosis-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-and-fibromyalgia-is-it-the-same/">The Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia - Is it the Same? - Health Rising</a>

Patients with CFS activate more wider area of activated frontal regions…. in order to increase their poorer task performance with massive mental effort. This is likely to be less efficient and costly in terms of energy requirements. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26594619">Mizuno et. Al. 2015</a>

Lesions in different parts of the brain are associated with fatigue in MS. Those same lesions are not usually found in FM and ME/CFS. Some studies suggest, however, that the same areas of the brain may be impacted.

Compensatory, Less Efficient Brain Functioning Causes Fatigue – several studies suggest the mental fatigue found in ME/CFS may result from a similar compensatory response as seen in MS. In ME/CFS more brain regions than normal are required to complete a task. This is believed to result in less efficient brain activity, greater use of brain resources for simple tasks and ultimately fatigue.

From: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23689958">Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging activity and connectivity and cognitive outcome in traumatic brain injury. - PubMed - NCBI</a>

Signal amplitude and functional connectivity during the resting state, tractography related to DMN, and the association between signal amplitudes and cognitive outcome.

<h4>RESULTS:</h4>

Patients had greater ALFF in frontal regions, which was correlated with cognitive performance. Within the DMN, patients showed increased connectivity in the frontal lobes. Seed-based connectivity analyses revealed augmented connectivity within surrounding areas of the frontal and left parietal nodes of the DMN. Fractional anisotropy of the cingulate tract was correlated with increased connectivity of the frontal node of the DMN in patients with TBI.

<h4>CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:</h4>

Increased ALFF is related to better cognitive performance in chronic TBI. The loss of structural connectivity produced by damage to the cingulum tract explained the compensatory increases in functional connectivity within the frontal node of the DMN.