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Cortical Surface Thickness in the Middle-Aged Brain with White Matter Hyperintense Lesions
Ying Zhuang1, Xianjun Zeng2, Bo Wang2
1Department of Oncology, The Second Hospital of Nanchang CityNanchang, China.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
|August 4, 2017
Summary
Middle-aged individuals with white matter hyperintense (WMH) lesions show reduced cortical thickness in key brain regions. This study highlights WMH-associated structural changes, particularly in integration and recognition areas, indicating potential brain plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Brain Morphology
- Structural Plasticity
Background:
- Previous studies indicated regional cortical atrophy in middle-aged subjects with white matter hyperintense (WMH) lesions.
- Few studies have specifically assessed cortical thickness in this demographic with WMH.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine cortical thickness and morphometry in middle-aged subjects with WMH.
- To investigate the association between WMH lesion load and cerebral cortical thickness.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) for cortical thickness estimation.
- Manually segmented WMH lesions to quantify WMH load.
- Compared cortical thickness between 36 WMH subjects and 34 healthy controls (HCS) using statistical cortical maps.
Main Results:
- WMH group exhibited significantly lower cortical thickness in multimodal integration regions (e.g., dACC, fO, OP, MTG, STG) and recognition regions (e.g., TP, fusiform gyrus, RO).
- Increased cortical thickness was observed in the left superior parietal lobule (SPL) in the WMH group.
- Negative correlation found between cortical thickness and WMH load in the right OFC, DLPFC, and subcallosal cortex.
Conclusions:
- Middle-aged subjects with WMH are prone to cortical thinning, especially in multimodal integration, recognition, and motor-related regions.
- Findings support WMH-associated structural plasticity and offer insights into brain changes in aging with cerebrovascular disease.
