ePoster

LOCAL AND GLOBAL MICROSTRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL THALAMOMOTOR CONNECTIVITY ALTERATIONS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE FOLLOWING MOTOR LEARNING

Amir Amediand 5 co-authors

Reichman University

FENS Forum 2026 (2026)

Barcelona, Spain

Board PS06-09PM-640

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Date TBA

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Board: PS06-09PM-640

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LOCAL AND GLOBAL MICROSTRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL THALAMOMOTOR CONNECTIVITY ALTERATIONS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE FOLLOWING MOTOR LEARNING poster preview

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PS06-09PM-640

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Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a sensitive approach to detect microstructural decline in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is emerging as a method to identify rapid learning induced white-matter changes, yet such evidence in PD remains limited. The present study aimed to determine whether a short-term, digital intervention can induce measurable microstructural and functional plasticity within motor networks and whether such changes are associated with clinical motor improvement.

In this prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 32 levodopa-treated patients were randomized to a 3-week digital intervention (DopApp) or placebo app. The DopApp involved a digital spatial navigation protocol combining egocentric and allocentric strategies with multisensory-deprivation principles, alongside psychological and rehabilitation modules. Patients were assessed pre- and post-treatment using clinical and psychological scales and MRI scans, including resting-state fMRI (rsFC) and DTI, to investigate motor learning neuroplasticity.

DopApp treatment significantly improved the total MDS-UPDRS score compared to placebo-app, driven by gains in motor function (Part III) and activities of daily living (Part II). Neuroimaging revealed increased fractional anisotropy in the right ventrolateral posterior (VLp) thalamus and strengthened functional connectivity between VLp and precentral gyrus (PreCG), both correlated with clinical motor improvements. Graph-theory analysis indicated increased local efficiency in PreCG and adjacent motor network, suggesting enhanced structural integration.

These findings demonstrate regionally specific, short-term plasticity in PD, and support DTI’s sensitivity to capture clinically relevant motor training-related white-matter adaptations beyond dopaminergic medication effects.

$Figure showing structural and functional brain changes associated with motor improvement. (a) Brain slice highlighting a cluster of increased fractional anisotropy in the right thalamic region following DopApp™ intervention compared with placebo. (b) Scatter plot showing that greater increases in fractional anisotropy in the right ventral lateral posterior thalamus are associated with greater improvement in motor symptoms (lower MDS-UPDRS Part III scores) in the DopApp™ group, but not in placebo. (c) Brain surface map and scatter plot showing that increased functional connectivity between the right ventral lateral posterior thalamus and left primary motor cortex correlates with motor improvement in the intervention group only.$

LOCAL AND GLOBAL MICROSTRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL THALAMOMOTOR CONNECTIVITY ALTERATIONS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE FOLLOWING MOTOR LEARNING

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