Multisensory mental imagery of
fatigue
: Evidence from an fMRI study |
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| Authors: | Barbara Tomasino Ilaria Del Negro Riccardo Garbo Gian Luigi Gigli Serena D'Agostini Maria Rosaria Valente |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Scientific Institute IRCCS “Eugenio Medea”, Polo FVG, Pasian di Prato (UD) Italy ; 2. Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Presidio Ospedaliero Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine Italy ; 3. Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine Italy ; 4. Neuroradiology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Presidio Ospedaliero Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine Italy |
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| Abstract: | Functional imaging experimental designs measuring fatigue, defined as a subjective lack of physical and/or mental energy characterizing a wide range of neurologic conditions, are still under development. Nineteen right‐handed healthy subjects (9 M and 10 F, mean age 43.15 ± 8.34 years) were evaluated by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), asking them to perform explicit, first‐person, mental imagery of fatigue‐related multisensory sensations. Short sentences designed to assess the principal manifestations of fatigue from the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory were presented. Participants were asked to imagine the corresponding sensations (Sensory Imagery, SI). As a control, they had to imagine the visual scenes (Visual Imagery, VI) described in short phrases. The SI task (vs. VI task) differentially activated three areas: (i) the precuneus, which is involved in first‐person perspective taking; (ii) the left superior temporal sulcus, which is a multisensory integration area; and (iii) the left inferior frontal gyrus, known to be involved in mental imagery network. The SI fMRI task can be used to measure processing involved in mental imagery of fatigue‐related multisensory sensations. |
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| Keywords: | fatigue fMRI mental imagery precuneus superior temporal sulcus vividness |
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