Clinical Value of Functional MRI in the Diagnosis of Cognitive Disorders in Patients with Arteriovenous Malformations

Cognitive impairment that develops in acute and chronic cerebral pathology, including arteriovenous malformations, is one of the most frequent and prognostically unfavorable complications. Late detection of severe forms of cognitive impairment, including dementia, leads to a lack of early preventive and therapeutic correction, a decrease in the effectiveness of rehabilitation and the quality of life of patients with AVM. A comprehensive assessment of cognitive impairment may be a diagnostic criterion for assessing the severity of neurological symptoms at the endovascular treatment stages. A significant contribution to the study of the pathophysiology of CN formation in patients with AVM is made by fMRI, providing knowledge about the functional organization of the brain. The results of functional mapping of the brain in 11 patients with arteriovenous malformations are presented. The structure of cognitive impairment was evaluated using advanced neuropsychological testing and structural-functional restructuring in the cerebral cortex using fMRI. To obtain images, an echoplanar tomography technique using BOLD contrast was used. The data obtained indicate complex neurodynamic disorders of the cognitive sphere in patients with AVM in several areas of both the right and left hemisphere: dorsal, ventral and medial front-striatal thalamic and fronto-parietal cerebellar networks.