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Hippocampus- and thalamus-related fiber-specific white matter reductions in mild cognitive impairment

Yu Zhou1, Xiaopeng Si2,3,4, Yuanyuan Chen2,3

  • 1School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|December 10, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be improved by identifying white matter degeneration in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study found specific fiber tracts linked to the hippocampus and thalamus show significant changes, offering new biomarkers for early AD detection.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuroscience
  • Biomarkers

Background:

  • Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) precedes Alzheimer's disease (AD), with white matter degeneration occurring early.
  • While limbic system white matter changes in MCI are known, other affected tracts remain unclear.
  • Identifying novel biomarkers is crucial for early AD diagnosis and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate white matter degeneration in the hippocampus-temporal and thalamus-related fibers in individuals with MCI.
  • To assess the potential of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters in these fibers as biomarkers for early AD detection.
  • To correlate white matter changes with cognitive and depression scores in MCI patients.

Main Methods:

  • Used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to track hippocampus-temporal and thalamus-related white matter fibers.
  • Extracted DTI parameters (e.g., mean diffusivity) from selected fibers.
  • Applied statistical analysis, machine learning classification, and correlation analyses between MCI and normal control (NC) groups.

Main Results:

  • Significantly higher mean diffusivity was observed in hippocampus-temporal and thalamus-related fibers in the MCI group, enabling effective classification.
  • Degenerated fibers, particularly hippocampus-temporal ones, showed stronger correlations with cognitive scores compared to normal fibers.
  • Thalamus-related fibers exhibited stronger correlations with depression scores in MCI patients than hippocampus-temporal fibers.

Conclusions:

  • Hippocampus-temporal and thalamus-related white matter fibers show significant degeneration in MCI.
  • DTI parameters of these fibers serve as effective biomarkers for early AD diagnosis.
  • These findings contribute to understanding white matter changes in MCI and their relation to cognitive and mood symptoms.
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s diseasecognitiondepressiondiffusion tensor imagingmean diffusivity

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