Set-Shifting Ability Is Associated with Gray Matter Volume in Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Kota Tsutsumimoto1, Hyuma Makizako1, Hiroyuki Shimada1
1Department of Preventive Gerontology, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Obu, Japan.
Background/Aims:
An understanding of the association between gray matter volume and executive functioning could provide strategies to reduce dementia risk in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods:
In a cross-sectional analysis, we assessed executive functioning in 83 older people with MCI using three standard neuropsychological tests: set shifting (difference between Trail Making Test Parts B and A), working memory (difference between Digit Span forward and backward from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV), and selective attention/response inhibition (difference between the second and third conditions of the color- and picture-word Stroop test). Gray matter volume was computed from brain MRIs and SIENAX from FSL software.
Results:
Gray matter volume was significantly associated with set-shifting performance after accounting for age, gender, body mass index, education, and global cognition (standardized β = -0.376, p = 0.001), but not with working memory or selective attention/response inhibition.
Conclusion:
The executive function of set-shifting ability was correlated with gray matter volume in older people with MCI.
