Assessment of memory/attention impairment in children with primary nocturnal enuresis: a voxel-based morphometry...

Assessment of memory/attention impairment and related exploration of the gray matter differential MR density variations between children with and without primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) methodology is the aim of the present study.

A total of 75 right-handed PNE children (M/F=39:36, average age 10.4±1.3 years) and 72 age-matched, right-handed, healthy controls (M/F=40:32, 10.0 ± 1.2 years) were recruited for the study. First, intelligence tests were performed using the China-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C-WISC) in both PNE and control children. The full intelligence quotient (FIQ), verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), and memory/caution (M/C) factor were measured. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed using high resolution 3 Tesla T1-weighted MR images, processed using VBM5 in the PNE and control children. Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test were performed to analyze the difference in the gray matter density (GMD) between the PNE and control children.

The FIQ, VIQ, and PIQ in the PNE group were within the normal range and did not significantly differ from the control group, though the M/C factor was statistically lower in the PNE group. Compared with normal controls, PNE children exhibited lower GMD in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left cerebellum (P<0.001).

Impairment in memory/attention was detected in PNE children, and the structural abnormalities of the right DLPFC and left cerebellum are likely to be implicated in these deficits.