Neuroanatomical Moderators of the Impact of Mild Behavioral Impairment on Cognition

Abstract Older adults with mild behavioral impairment (MBI), or the presence of late-life neuropsychiatric symptoms, have a unique cognitive phenotype. However, the neural correlates associated with MBI-related cognitive changes is not well understood. The goal of this study is to examine if specific regions of the brain moderate the relationship between the presence of MBI and performance on tasks of cognition. Data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center was utilized for this study. Participants (N=1,451) were included in our analyses if they were cognitively healthy or had mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Multiple domains of cognitive performance were evaluated. The neuroanatomical regions included hippocampus, caudal anterior cingulate (ACC), rostral ACC, entorhinal, and parahippocampal gray matter volume; and caudal ACC, rostral ACC, entorhinal, and parahippocampal mean cortical thickness. Hippocampal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal cortical gray matter volume moderated the relationship between MBI and performance on tasks of episodic memory. Left rostral ACC cortical gray matter volume and entorhinal and parahippocampal mean cortical thickness moderated the relationship between MBI and performance on language tasks. Hippocampi cortical gray matter volume also moderated the relationship between MBI and performance on processing speed tasks. Persons with smaller brain sizes in these areas were more negatively affected in these cognitive domains if they had MBI. These results suggest that the association between smaller brain volumes and cognition was stronger among persons with MBI. These findings suggest that older adults with MBI may perform worse on these tasks due to neurodegeneration that is present.

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Neurostructural correlates of hope: dispositional hope mediates the impact of the SMA gray matter volume on subjective well-being in late adolescence

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa046 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 395-404 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Song Wang ◽

Yajun Zhao ◽

Jingguang Li ◽

Han Lai ◽

Chen Qiu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Dispositional Hope ◽

Neurobiological Substrates ◽

Cortical Gray Matter ◽

The Impact

Abstract There has been increasing interest in identifying factors to predict subjective well-being in the emerging field of positive psychology over the past two decades. Dispositional hope, which reflects one’s goal-directed tendencies, including both pathway thinking (planning to meet goals) and agency thinking (goal-directed determination), has emerged as a stable predictor for subjective well-being. However, the neurobiological substrates of dispositional hope and the brain-hope mechanism for predicting subjective well-being remain unclear. Here, we examined these issues in 231 high school graduates within the same grade by estimating cortical gray matter volume (GMV) utilizing a voxel-based morphometry method based on structural magnetic resonance imaging. Whole-brain regression analyses and prediction analyses showed that higher dispositional hope was stably associated with greater GMV in the left supplementary motor area (SMA). Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed that dispositional hope mediated the relation between left SMA volume and subjective well-being. Critically, our results were obtained after adjusting for age, sex, family socioeconomic status and total GMV. Altogether, our study presents novel evidence for the neuroanatomical basis of dispositional hope and suggests an underlying indirect effect of dispositional hope on the link between brain gray matter structure and subjective well-being.

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Leukoaraiosis and Gray Matter Volume Alteration in Older Adults: The PROOF Study

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.747569 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Sébastien Celle ◽

Claire Boutet ◽

Cédric Annweiler ◽

Romain Ceresetti ◽

Vincent Pichot ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Fazekas Scale ◽

The Right ◽

The Relationship

Background and Purpose: Leukoaraiosis, also called white matter hyperintensities (WMH), is frequently encountered in the brain of older adults. During aging, gray matter structure is also highly affected. WMH or gray matter defects are commonly associated with a higher prevalence of mild cognitive impairment. However, little is known about the relationship between WMH and gray matter. Our aim was thus to explore the relationship between leukoaraiosis severity and gray matter volume in a cohort of healthy older adults.Methods: Leukoaraiosis was rated in participants from the PROOF cohort using the Fazekas scale. Voxel-based morphometry was performed on brain scans to examine the potential link between WMH and changes of local brain volume. A neuropsychological evaluation including attentional, executive, and memory tests was also performed to explore cognition.Results: Out of 315 75-year-old subjects, 228 had punctuate foci of leukoaraiosis and 62 had begun the confluence of foci. Leukoaraiosis was associated with a decrease of gray matter in the middle temporal gyrus, in the right medial frontal gyrus, and in the left parahippocampal gyrus. It was also associated with decreased performances in memory recall, executive functioning, and depression.Conclusion: In a population of healthy older adults, leukoaraiosis was associated with gray matter defects and reduced cognitive performance. Controlling vascular risk factors and detecting early cerebrovascular disease may prevent, at least in part, dementia onset and progression.

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Supplemental Material for Salient Measures of Inhibition and Switching Are Associated With Frontal Lobe Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Neuropsychology ◽

10.1037/neu0000082.supp ◽

2014 ◽

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Frontal Lobe ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Matter Volume

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Voxel-based correlation of 18F-THK5351 accumulation and gray matter volume in the brain of cognitively normal older adults

EJNMMI Research ◽

10.1186/s13550-019-0552-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yoko Shigemoto ◽

Daichi Sone ◽

Miho Ota ◽

Norihide Maikusa ◽

Masayo Ogawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Cognitively Normal ◽

Matter Volume ◽

The Brain

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Housing quality and behavior affect brain health and anxiety in healthy Japanese adults

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91363-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Juan Cesar D. Pineda ◽

Keisuke Kokubun ◽

Toshiharu Ikaga ◽

Yoshinori Yamakawa

Keyword(s):

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Housing Quality ◽

Valuable Insight ◽

Brain Health ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Japanese Adults ◽

The Relationship

AbstractCountless studies in animals have shown how housing environments and behaviors can significantly affect anxiety and brain health, giving valuable insight as to whether this is applicable in the human context. The relationship between housing, behavior, brain health, and mental wellbeing in humans remains poorly understood. We therefore explored the interaction of housing quality, weekend/holiday sedentary behavior, brain structure, and anxiety in healthy Japanese adults. Whole-brain structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods based on gray matter volume and fractional anisotropy were used as markers for brain health. Correlation tests were conducted, and then adjusted for multiple comparisons using the False Discovery Rate method. Housing quality and weekend/holiday sedentary behavior were associated with fractional anisotropy, but not with gray matter volume. Fractional anisotropy showed significant associations with anxiety. Lastly, both weekend/holiday sedentary behavior and housing quality were indirectly associated with anxiety through fractional anisotropy. These results add to the limited evidence surrounding the relationship among housing, behavior, and the brain. Furthermore, these results show that behavior and housing qualities can have an indirect impact on anxiety through neurobiological markers such as fractional anisotropy.

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Neurostructural correlates of work-related risk propensity (WRP): The PCC gray matter volume mediates the impact of extraversion on WRP

Personality and Individual Differences ◽

10.1016/j.paid.2021.110820 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 177 ◽

pp. 110820 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhengqiang Zhong ◽

Fumin Deng ◽

Han Ren

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Risk Propensity ◽

Work Related ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Related Risk ◽

The Impact

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Alterations of frontal-temporal gray matter volume associate with clinical measures of older adults with COVID-19

Neurobiology of Stress ◽

10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100326 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100326

Author(s):

Kuaikuai Duan ◽

Enrico Premi ◽

Andrea Pilotto ◽

Viviana Cristillo ◽

Alberto Benussi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Clinical Measures

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Gray Matter Volume Covariance Networks, Social Support, and Cognition in Older Adults

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbz023 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 75 (6) ◽

pp. 1219-1229 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kelly Cotton ◽

Joe Verghese ◽

Helena M Blumen

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Functional Health ◽

Matter Volume ◽

With Memory ◽

Gray Matter Network

Abstract Objective We examined the neural substrates of social support in older adults. Social support is associated with better outcomes in many facets of aging—including cognitive and functional health—but the underlying neural substrates remain largely unexplored. Methods Voxel-based morphometry and multivariate statistics were used to identify gray matter volume covariance networks associated with social support in 112 older adults without dementia (M age = 74.6 years, 50% female), using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Results A gray matter network associated with overall social support was identified and included prefrontal, hippocampal, amygdala, cingulate, and thalamic regions. A gray matter network specifically associated with tangible social support (e.g., someone to help you if you were confined to bed) was also identified, included prefrontal, hippocampal, cingulate, insular, and thalamic regions, and correlated with memory and executive function. Discussion Gray matter networks associated with overall and tangible social support in this study were composed of regions previously associated with memory, executive function, aging, and dementia. Longitudinal research of the interrelationships between social support, brain structure, and cognition is needed, but strengthening social support may represent a new path toward improving cognition in aging that should be explored.

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The gray matter volume of the right insula mediates the relationship between symptoms of depression/anxiety and sleep quality among college students

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105319869977 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 135910531986997 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Huazhan Yin ◽

Li Zhang ◽

Dan Li ◽

Lu Xiao ◽

Mei Cheng

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Emotional Processing ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Critical Role ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Matter Volume ◽

The Right ◽

The Relationship

This study investigated the neuroanatomical basis of the association between depression/anxiety and sleep quality among 370 college students. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between sleep quality and depression/anxiety. Moreover, mediation results showed that the gray matter volume of the right insula mediated the relationship between depression/anxiety and sleep quality, which suggested that depression/anxiety may affect sleep quality through the right insula volume. These findings confirmed a strong link between sleep quality and depression/anxiety, while highlighting the volumetric variation in the right insula associated with emotional processing, which may play a critical role in improving sleep quality.

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