Spinal cord dysfunction contributes to balance impairment in multiple sclerosis patients.

Objectives: Balance impairment is very common in multiple sclerosis (MS) but its causes are still unclear. Some studies suggest that balance deficit originates mainly from damage in specific locations of the central nervous system such as cerebellum and spinal cord, that are involved in transmission and integration of sensory inputs and motor outputs. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of spinal cord to MS-related imbalance, by combining neurophysiologic and neuroimaging techniques.

Linking cognitive abilities with the propensity for risk-taking: the balloon analogue risk task.

There is great interest about the individual differences that influence the ability of dealing with risky decisions. In this light, an intriguing question is whether decision-making during risk is related to other cognitive abilities, especially executive functions. To investigate, in healthy subjects, the existence of a possible correlation between risk-taking and cognitive abilities, the balloon analogue risk task (BART) has been exploited to assess risk-taking propensity and the random number generation (RNG), to investigate cognitive functions.

The effect of practice on random number generation task: a transcranial direct current stimulation study.

Random number generation (RNG) is a procedurally-simple task related to specific executive functions, such as updating and monitoring of information and inhibition of automatic responses. The effect of practice on executive functions has been widely investigated, however little is known on the impact of practice on RNG. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) allows to modulate, non-invasively, brain activity and to enhance the effects of training on executive functions.