Stefano Diciotti1, Stefano Orsolini2, Emilia Salvadori3, Antonio Giorgio4, Nicola Toschi5, Stefano Ciulli6, Andrea Ginestroni7, Anna Poggesi3, Nicola De Stefano4, Leonardo Pantoni3, Domenico Inzitari3, Mario Mascalchi8. 1. Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.diciotti@unibo.it. 2. Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy. 3. NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. 4. Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. 5. Medical Physics Section, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 6. Medical Physics Section, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; "Mario Serio" Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, UK. 7. Neuroradiology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy. 8. "Mario Serio" Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Quantitative and Functional Neuroradiology Research Program at Meyer Children Hospital and Careggi General Hospital, Florence, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The hyperintensity of cerebral white matter (WM) in T2-weighted MR images of elderly subjects due to small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with variable clinical features including mild cognitive impairment (MCI), also termed subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI). The latter is typically characterized by psychomotor slowing, attention deficits, and executive dysfunctions. We hypothesized that functional brain changes might be associated with these distinctive cognitive deficits in patients with SVCI. METHODS: Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) signal was assessed in conjunction with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment battery (MoCA) and Stroop test in 67 subjects with MCI and moderate to severe extension of cerebral WM T2 hyperintensities qualifying for SVCI. We performed a whole-brain analysis of regional homogeneity (ReHo) of rsfMRI in conjunction with cognitive test scores. RESULTS: We observed a significant (p<0.05) negative association between ReHo and MoCA scores, with higher ReHo in the left posterior cerebellum (crus I) of patients with greater global cognitive impairment, and a significant positive association between ReHo and Stroop scores, with higher ReHo in the middle cingulate cortex bilaterally of patients with worse executive functions. CONCLUSION: ReHo of rsfMRI is significantly correlated with measurements of the cognitive deficits which are distinctive of SVCI. The increased activity could have a maladaptive or compensatory significance towards specific aspects of cognition.
BACKGROUND: The hyperintensity of cerebral white matter (WM) in T2-weighted MR images of elderly subjects due to small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with variable clinical features including mild cognitive impairment (MCI), also termed subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI). The latter is typically characterized by psychomotor slowing, attention deficits, and executive dysfunctions. We hypothesized that functional brain changes might be associated with these distinctive cognitive deficits in patients with SVCI. METHODS: Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) signal was assessed in conjunction with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment battery (MoCA) and Stroop test in 67 subjects with MCI and moderate to severe extension of cerebral WM T2 hyperintensities qualifying for SVCI. We performed a whole-brain analysis of regional homogeneity (ReHo) of rsfMRI in conjunction with cognitive test scores. RESULTS: We observed a significant (p<0.05) negative association between ReHo and MoCA scores, with higher ReHo in the left posterior cerebellum (crus I) of patients with greater global cognitive impairment, and a significant positive association between ReHo and Stroop scores, with higher ReHo in the middle cingulate cortex bilaterally of patients with worse executive functions. CONCLUSION: ReHo of rsfMRI is significantly correlated with measurements of the cognitive deficits which are distinctive of SVCI. The increased activity could have a maladaptive or compensatory significance towards specific aspects of cognition.
Authors: Zening Fu; Arvind Caprihan; Jiayu Chen; Yuhui Du; John C Adair; Jing Sui; Gary A Rosenberg; Vince D Calhoun Journal: Hum Brain Mapp Date: 2019-04-05 Impact factor: 5.038
Authors: Barnaly Rashid; Victoria N Poole; Francesca C Fortenbaugh; Michael Esterman; William P Milberg; Regina E McGlinchey; David H Salat; Elizabeth C Leritz Journal: Neurobiol Aging Date: 2021-04-01 Impact factor: 5.133