Impaired Structural Network Properties Caused by White Matter Hyperintensity Related to Cognitive Decline

Yang, Dan; Huang, Lili; Luo, Caimei; Li, Mengchun; Qin, Ruomeng; Ma, Jun; Shao, Pengfei; Xu, Hengheng; Zhang, Bing; Xu, Yun; Zhang, Meijuan

doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.00250

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…ROIs are connected when the similarity value of ROIs exceeds the statistical threshold (P < 0.05, False Discovery Rate, FDR corrected) determined by the random arrangement method (Toppi et al, 2012). A brief description of specific definitions, calculating formula, and topological property descriptions for the network G with N nodes and V edges follows below (Xu et al, 2016;Yang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Network Parameters and Network Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain Structural Network Compensation Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

Sheng¹,

Chen²,

Shao³

et al. 2021

Front. Neurosci.

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BackgroundStructural network alterations in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are related to worse cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to quantify the alterations in gray matter associated with impaired cognition and their pathological biomarkers in AD-spectrum patients.MethodsWe extracted gray matter networks from 3D-T1 magnetic resonance imaging scans, and a graph theory analysis was used to explore alterations in the network metrics in 34 healthy controls, 70 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 40 AD patients. Spearman correlation analysis was computed to investigate the relationships among network properties, neuropsychological performance, and cerebrospinal fluid pathological biomarkers (i.e., Aβ, t-tau, and p-tau) in these subjects.ResultsAD-spectrum individuals demonstrated higher nodal properties and edge properties associated with impaired memory function, and lower amyloid-β or higher tau levels than the controls. Furthermore, these compensations at the brain regional level in AD-spectrum patients were mainly in the medial temporal lobe; however, the compensation at the whole-brain network level gradually extended from the frontal lobe to become widely distributed throughout the cortex with the progression of AD.ConclusionThe findings provide insight into the alterations in the gray matter network related to impaired cognition and pathological biomarkers in the progression of AD. The possibility of compensation was detected in the structural networks in AD-spectrum patients; the compensatory patterns at regional and whole-brain levels were different and the clinical significance was highlighted.

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Section: Network Parameters and Network Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain Structural Network Compensation Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

Sheng¹,

Chen²,

Shao³

et al. 2021

Front. Neurosci.

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“…Some DTI studies also found that some projection fibers connecting thalamus to cortical regions (i.e., anterior thalamic radiation) are correlated with cognitive decline in SVD patients with high WMHs load (Duering et al, 2011(Duering et al, , 2014. Specifically, a recent structural MRI study showed that increased nodal path length in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFGoperc.L) acted as a mediator between periventricular WMHs (PWMH) and memory deficit (Yang et al, 2020). In addition, resting-state functional MRI studies based on graph theory analysis have shown that nodal global efficiency in frontal and parietal regions mediated the associations between processing speed and PWMH in WMH subjects (Chen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nowadays, graph theory analysis has been increasingly applied to construct a WM structural network and explore structural network topological organization in cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) ( Tuladhar et al, 2015 ; Yang et al, 2020 ). However, an important question is the inconsistency among previous studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disrupted Structural Brain Connectome Is Related to Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Ischemic Leukoaraiosis

Lü

Wang

Cui

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Ischemic leukoaraiosis (ILA) is related to cognitive impairment and vascular dementia in the elderly. One possible mechanism could be the disruption of white matter (WM) tracts and network function that connect distributed brain regions involved in cognition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between structural connectome and cognitive functions in ILA patients. A total of 89 patients with ILA (Fazekas score ≥ 3) and 90 healthy controls (HCs) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological examinations and diffusion tensor imaging scans. The tract-based spatial statistics approach was employed to investigate the WM integrity. Graph theoretical analysis was further applied to construct the topological architecture of the structural connectome in ILA patients. Partial correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between network measures and cognitive performances in the ILA group. Compared with HCs, the ILA patients showed widespread WM integrity disruptions. The ILA group displayed increased characteristic path length (Lp) and decreased global network efficiency at the level of the whole brain relative to HCs, and reduced nodal efficiencies, predominantly in the frontal–subcortical and limbic system regions. Furthermore, these structural connectomic alterations were associated with cognitive impairment in ILA patients. The association between WM changes (i.e., fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity measures) and cognitive function was mediated by the structural connectivity measures (i.e., local network efficiency and Lp). In conclusion, cognitive impairment in ILA patients is related to microstructural disruption of multiple WM fibers and topological disorganization of structural networks, which have implications in understanding the relationship between ILA and the possible attendant cognitive impairment.

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“…Recently, more and more evidence has shown that abnormalities in the thalamic cortical network may cause cognitive dysfunction in patients with WMH. One study on diffusion tensor imaging indicated that the brain structure network in WMH patients with cognitive impairment is seriously affected, and this disorder is relevant to the burden of WMH and cognitive deficits (Yang et al, 2020 ). It is reported that the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the left parahippocampal gyrus was significantly reduced, and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the left inferior semi-lunar lobule and the right Supraorbital frontal gyrus increased of WMH patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thalamocortical Functional Connectivity in Patients With White Matter Hyperintensities

Chen

Wang

Cao

et al. 2021

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH)s is a very common neuroradiological manifestation in the elderly and is an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. As we all know, the thalamocortical circuit plays an important part in cognition regulation. However, the role of this circuit in WMHs and its related cognitive deficits is still unclear.Method: Eighty WMH patients and 37 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in the current study. WMH patients were divided into a mild WMH group (n = 33) and moderate-severe WMH group (n = 47) according to Fazekas scores. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of all participants were collected for thalamocortical functional connectivity (FC) analysis. The analysis was performed in two steps. First, the whole cerebral cortex was divided into six regions of interest (ROIs), which were used as seeds to investigate the changes of FC with the thalamus. Then, the subregion of the thalamus generated in the previous step was used as the seed for FC analysis with the whole brain.Results: In the first step of FC analysis, it was found that precentral gyrus (PrCG)-interthalamic adhesion (ITA) FC values in moderate-severe WMH group were higher than those in HC and mild WMH groups. However, when compared with the HC group, the increase of PrCG-ITA FC values in mild WMH group was not statistically significant. In the second step of FC analysis, the ITA was set as the seed, and compared with the HC group, the results showed that the FC values of the ITA-medial frontal gyrus (MFG) in mild group and moderate-severe WMH groups were significantly increased. In addition, the FC values in moderate-severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group. Finally, it was also found that FC values (PrCG-ITA and ITA-MFG) were significantly correlated with neuropsychological test results for multiple cognitive functions such as memory, execution and attention in WMH patients.Conclusion: Abnormal thalamocortical FC was closely related with cognitive impairments in WMH patients.

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Impaired Structural Network Properties Caused by White Matter Hyperintensity Related to Cognitive Decline

Cited by 11 publications

References 53 publications

Brain Structural Network Compensation Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

Brain Structural Network Compensation Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

Disrupted Structural Brain Connectome Is Related to Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Ischemic Leukoaraiosis

Thalamocortical Functional Connectivity in Patients With White Matter Hyperintensities

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