scholarly journals The white matter network in cognitive normal elderly predict the rate of cognitive decline

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijie Huang ◽  
Ni Shu

AbstractWhite matter degradation has been proposed as one possible explanation for age-related cognitive decline. The human brain is, however, a network and it may be more appropriate to relate cognitive functions to properties of the network rather than specific brain regions. Cognitive domains were measured annually (mean follow-up = 1.25 ± 0.61 years), including processing speed, memory, language, visuospatial, and executive functions. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed at baseline in 90 clinically normal older adults (aged 54–86). We report on graph theory-based analyses of diffusion tensor imaging tract-derived connectivity. The machine learning approach was used to predict the rate of cognitive decline from white matter connectivity data. The reduced efficacy of white matter networks could predict the performance of these cognitive domains except memory. The predicted scores were significantly correlated with the real scores. For the local regions for predicting the cognitive changes, the right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobe and cuneus are the most important regions for predicting monthly change of executive function; some left partial and occipital regions are the most important for the changed of attention; the right frontal and temporal regions are the most important for the changed of language. Our findings suggested that the global white matter connectivity characteristics are the valuable predictive index for the longitudinal cognitive decline. For the first time, topological efficiency of white matter connectivity maps which related to special domains of cognitive decline in the elderly are identified.

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cibu Thomas ◽  
Linda Moya ◽  
Galia Avidan ◽  
Kate Humphreys ◽  
Kwan Jin Jung ◽  
...  

An age-related decline in face processing, even under conditions in which learning and memory are not implicated, has been well documented, but the mechanism underlying this perceptual alteration remains unknown. Here, we examine whether this behavioral change may be accounted for by a reduction in white matter connectivity with age. To this end, we acquired diffusion tensor imaging data from 28 individuals aged 18 to 86 years and quantified the number of fibers, voxels, and fractional anisotropy of the two major tracts that pass through the fusiform gyrus, the pre-eminent face processing region in the ventral temporal cortex. We also measured the ability of a subset of these individuals to make fine-grained discriminations between pairs of faces and between pairs of cars. There was a significant reduction in the structural integrity of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) in the right hemisphere as a function of age on all dependent measures and there were also some changes in the left hemisphere, albeit to a lesser extent. There was also a clear age-related decrement in accuracy of perceptual discrimination, especially for more challenging perceptual discriminations, and this held to a greater degree for faces than for cars. Of greatest relevance, there was a robust association between the reduction of IFOF integrity in the right hemisphere and the decline in face perception, suggesting that the alteration in structural connectivity between the right ventral temporal and frontal cortices may account for the age-related difficulties in face processing.


Neurology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Charlton ◽  
T. R. Barrick ◽  
D. J. McIntyre ◽  
Y. Shen ◽  
M. O'Sullivan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihong Yuan ◽  
Jonathan Dudley ◽  
Alexis B Slutsky-Ganesh ◽  
James Leach ◽  
Pete Scheifele ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel who practice breaching with blast exposure are at risk for blast-related head trauma. We aimed to investigate the impact of low-level blast exposure on underlying white matter (WM) microstructure based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation and density imaging (NODDI) in SWAT personnel before and after breacher training. Diffusion tensor imaging is an advanced MRI technique sensitive to underlying WM alterations. NODDI is a novel MRI technique emerged recently that acquires diffusion weighted data from multiple shells modeling for different compartments in the microstructural environment in the brain. We also aimed to evaluate the effect of a jugular vein compression collar device in mitigating the alteration of the diffusion properties in the WM as well as its role as a moderator on the association between the diffusion property changes and the blast exposure. Materials and Methods Twenty-one SWAT personnel (10 non-collar and 11 collar) completed the breacher training and underwent MRI at both baseline and after blast exposure. Diffusion weighted data were acquired with two shells (b = 1,000, 2,000 s/mm2) on 3T Phillips scanners. Diffusion tensor imaging metrices, including fractional anisotropy, mean, axial, and radial diffusivity, and NODDI metrics, including neurite density index (NDI), isotropic volume fraction (fiso), and orientation dispersion index, were calculated. Tract-based spatial statistics was used in the voxel-wise statistical analysis. Post hoc analyses were performed for the quantification of the pre- to post-blast exposure diffusion percentage change in the WM regions with significant group difference and for the assessment of the interaction of the relationship between blast exposure and diffusion alteration. Results The non-collar group exhibited significant pre- to post-blast increase in NDI (corrected P < .05) in the WM involving the right internal capsule, the right posterior corona radiation, the right posterior thalamic radiation, and the right sagittal stratum. A subset of these regions showed significantly greater alteration in NDI and fiso in the non-collar group when compared with those in the collar group (corrected P < .05). In addition, collar wearing exhibited a significant moderating effect for the alteration of fiso for its association with average peak pulse pressure. Conclusions Our data provided initial evidence of the impact of blast exposure on WM diffusion alteration based on both DTI and NODDI. The mitigating effect of WM diffusivity changes and the moderating effect of collar wearing suggest that the device may serve as a promising solution to protect WM against blast exposure.


NeuroImage ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. S128
Author(s):  
H Lemaitre ◽  
S Marenco ◽  
M Emery ◽  
T Alam ◽  
M Geramita ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 396-409
Author(s):  
Alexandrine Morand ◽  
Shailendra Segobin ◽  
Grégory Lecouvey ◽  
Julie Gonneaud ◽  
Francis Eustache ◽  
...  

Abstract Time-based prospective memory (TBPM) allows us to remember to perform intended actions at a specific time in the future. TBPM is sensitive to the effects of age, but the neural substrates of this decline are still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was thus to better characterize the brain substrates of the age-related decline in TBPM, focusing on macrostructural gray matter and microstructural white matter integrity. We administered a TBPM task to 22 healthy young (26 ± 5.2 years) and 23 older (63 ± 5.9 years) participants, who also underwent volumetric magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging scans. Neuroimaging analyses revealed lower gray matter volumes in several brain areas in older participants, but these did not correlate with TBPM performance. By contrast, an age-related decline in fractional anisotropy in several white-matter tracts connecting frontal and occipital regions did correlate with TBPM performance, whereas there was no significant correlation in healthy young subjects. According to the literature, these tracts are connected to the anterior prefrontal cortex and the thalamus, 2 structures involved in TBPM. These results confirm the view that a disconnection process occurs in aging and contributes to cognitive decline.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efrat Sasson ◽  
Glen M. Doniger ◽  
Ofer Pasternak ◽  
Ricardo Tarrasch ◽  
Yaniv Assaf

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