The impact of occipital lobe cortical thickness on cognitive task performance: An investigation in Huntington's Disease

Johnson, Eileanoir B.; Rees, Elin M.; Labuschagne, Izelle; Dürr, Alexandra; Leavitt, Blair R.; Roos, Raymund A.C.; Reilmann, Ralf; Johnson, Hans J.; Hobbs, Nicola Z.; Langbehn, Douglas R.; Stout, Julie C.; Tabrizi, Sarah J.; Scahill, Rachael I.

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.033

Cited by 58 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(81 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The difference with our findings might be explained by the fact that our cohort consisted of a heterogeneous, relatively young group of premanifest HD gene carriers with a median estimated time to disease onset of 16 years, based on the survival analysis of (Langbehn, Brinkman, Falush, Paulsen, & Hayden, 2004). (Johnson et al, 2015;Nopoulos et al, 2010;Tabrizi et al, 2009) Only six premanifest participants in our study were within a decade or nearer to disease onset, which might explain the fact that we found no differences between controls and premanifest HD. (Johnson et al, 2015;Nopoulos et al, 2010;Tabrizi et al, 2009) Only six premanifest participants in our study were within a decade or nearer to disease onset, which might explain the fact that we found no differences between controls and premanifest HD.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 95%

“…Our findings that cortical morphology of the primary visual cortex in early HD remained unaffected is in line with other studies that did not found atrophy of the primary visual cortex in both early and advanced disease stages (Johnson et al, 2015;Nana et al, 2014;Nopoulos et al, 2010). Still, our study is the first study that provides evidence of preserved basic visual processing function in early stages of HD using task-based fMRI that involved a black-and-white checkerboard stimulus.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In the human brain, transmission of incoming stimuli from the retina pass the afferent visual pathway via the optic nerve, optic tract, lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus, and optic radiation to the primary visual (striate) cortex in the occipital lobe and higher posterior cortical areas (Prasad & Galetta, 2011). In Huntington's disease (HD), an autosomal-dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder, progressive structural changes in the posterior cerebral cortex can be detected in early stages of the disease, while frontal and temporal regions remain less affected (Johnson et al, 2015;Nana, Kim, Thu, Oorschot, & Tippett, 2014;Nopoulos et al, 2010;Rosas et al, 2008;Rüb et al, 2015;Tabrizi et al, 2009). In Huntington's disease (HD), an autosomal-dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder, progressive structural changes in the posterior cerebral cortex can be detected in early stages of the disease, while frontal and temporal regions remain less affected (Johnson et al, 2015;Nana, Kim, Thu, Oorschot, & Tippett, 2014;Nopoulos et al, 2010;Rosas et al, 2008;Rüb et al, 2015;Tabrizi et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The manifest stage of HD is clinically characterized by progressive motor disturbances such as chorea and dystonia, cognitive decline, and psychiatric symptoms (Bates et al, 2015;Roos, 2010). Nonetheless, neuropsychological studies assessing visual cognitive function in HD reported impairments in several visual domains, specifically tasks involving visual object perception (Gómez-Tortosa, del Barrio, Barroso, & García Ruiz, 1996;Lemiere, Decruyenaere, Evers-Kiebooms, Vandenbussche, & Dom, 2004), facial emotion recognition (Bora, Velakoulis, & Walterfang, 2016;Kordsachia, Labuschagne, & Stout, 2017), visuospatial processing, and visual working memory (E. Johnson et al, 2015;Labuschagne et al, 2016). Nonetheless, neuropsychological studies assessing visual cognitive function in HD reported impairments in several visual domains, specifically tasks involving visual object perception (Gómez-Tortosa, del Barrio, Barroso, & García Ruiz, 1996;Lemiere, Decruyenaere, Evers-Kiebooms, Vandenbussche, & Dom, 2004), facial emotion recognition (Bora, Velakoulis, & Walterfang, 2016;Kordsachia, Labuschagne, & Stout, 2017), visuospatial processing, and visual working memory (E. Johnson et al, 2015;Labuschagne et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Structural and functional changes of the visual cortex in early Huntington's disease

Coppen

Grond

Hafkemeijer

et al. 2018

Human Brain Mapping

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor disturbances, psychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment. Visual cognitive deficits and atrophy of the posterior cerebral cortex are additionally present in early disease stages. This study aimed to assess the extent of structural and functional brain alterations of the visual cortex in HD gene carriers using different neuroimaging modalities. Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 18 healthy controls, 21 premanifest, and 20 manifest HD gene carriers. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis and cortical thickness measurements were performed to assess structural changes in the visual cortex. Brain function was measured by assessing neuronal connectivity changes in response to visual stimulation and at rest in visual resting-state networks. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between visual cognitive function and structural imaging measures. Compared to controls, pronounced atrophy and decreased neuronal function at rest were present in associative visual cortices in manifest HD. The primary visual cortex did not show group differences in cortical thickness and in vascular activity after visual stimulation. Thinning of the associative visual cortex was related to worse visual perceptual function. Premanifest HD gene carriers did not show any differences in brain structure or function compared to controls. This study improves the knowledge on posterior brain changes in HD, as our findings suggest that the primary visual cortex remains preserved, both structurally and functionally, while atrophy of associative visual cortices is present in early HD and linked to clinical visual deficits.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Structural and functional changes of the visual cortex in early Huntington's disease

Coppen

Grond

Hafkemeijer

et al. 2018

Human Brain Mapping

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We highlight here that we previously reported on a total score involving number correct collapsed across all degrees of rotation in a different set of analyses (Johnson et al, 2015).…”

Section: Mental Rotationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Visuospatial Processing Deficits Linked to Posterior Brain Regions in Premanifest and Early Stage Huntington’s Disease

Labuschagne

Mulick

Scahill

et al. 2016

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Visuospatial processing deficits have been reported in Huntington's disease (HD). To date, no study has examined associations between visuospatial cognition and posterior brain findings in HD. Method: We compared 119 premanifest (55 > and 64 < 10.8 years to expected disease onset) and 104 early symptomatic (59 stage-1 and 45 stage-2) gene carriers, with 110 controls on visual search and mental rotation performance at baseline and 12 months. In the disease groups we also examined associations between task performance and disease severity, functional capacity and structural brain measures. Results: Cross-sectionally, there were strong differences between all disease groups and controls on visual search, and between diagnosed groups and controls on mental rotation accuracy. Only the premanifest participants close to onset took longer than controls to respond correctly to mental rotation. Visual search negatively given to aspects of cognition outside of these areas.

show abstract

Association Between Motor Symptoms and Brain Metabolism in Early Huntington Disease

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IMPORTANCE Brain hypometabolism is associated with the clinical consequences of the degenerative process, but little is known about regional hypermetabolism, sometimes observed in the brain of patients with clinically manifest Huntington disease (HD). Studying the role of regional hypermetabolism is needed to better understand its interaction with the motor symptoms of the disease.OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between brain hypometabolism and hypermetabolism with motor scores of patients with early HD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis study started in 2001, and analysis was completed in 2016. Sixty symptomatic patients with HD and 15 healthy age-matched control individuals underwent positron emission tomography to measure cerebral metabolism in this cross-sectional study. They also underwent the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale motor test, and 2 subscores were extracted: (1) a hyperkinetic score, combining dystonia and chorea, and (2) a hypokinetic score, combining bradykinesia and rigidity.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Statistical parametric mapping software (SPM5) was used to identify all hypo-and hypermetabolic regions in patients with HD relative to control individuals. Correlation analyses (P < .001, uncorrected) between motor subscores and brain metabolic values were performed for regions with significant hypometabolism and hypermetabolism.RESULTS Among 60 patients with HD, 22 were women (36.7%), and the mean (SD) age was 44.6 (7.6) years. Of the 15 control individuals, 7 were women (46.7%), and the mean (SD) age was 42.2 (7.3) years. In statistical parametric mapping, striatal hypometabolism was significantly correlated with the severity of all motor scores. Hypermetabolism was negatively correlated only with hypokinetic scores in the cuneus (z score = 3.95, P < .001), the lingual gyrus (z score = 4.31, P < .001), and the crus I/II of the cerebellum (z score = 3.77, P < .001), a region connected to associative cortical areas. More severe motor scores were associated with higher metabolic values in the inferior parietal lobule, anterior cingulate, inferior temporal lobule, the dentate nucleus, and the cerebellar lobules IV/V, VI, and VIII bilaterally corresponding to the motor regions of the cerebellum (z score = 3.96 and 3.42 in right and left sides, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEStriatal hypometabolism is associated with clinical disease severity. Conversely, hypermetabolism is likely compensatory in regions where it is associated with decreasing motor scores. Hypermetabolism might be detrimental in other structures in which it is associated with more severe motor symptoms. In the cerebellum, both compensatory and detrimental contributions seem to occur. This study helps to better understand the motor clinical relevance of hypermetabolic brain regions in HD.

show abstract

The impact of occipital lobe cortical thickness on cognitive task performance: An investigation in Huntington's Disease

Cited by 58 publications

References 54 publications

Structural and functional changes of the visual cortex in early Huntington's disease

Structural and functional changes of the visual cortex in early Huntington's disease

Visuospatial Processing Deficits Linked to Posterior Brain Regions in Premanifest and Early Stage Huntington’s Disease

Association Between Motor Symptoms and Brain Metabolism in Early Huntington Disease

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About