Abnormal white matter structure in hoarding disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Hoarding disorder (HD) is characterized by persistent difficulty discarding possessions.
• Previous research indicated abnormal task-related brain activity in HD.
• White matter tract alterations in HD remain under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter tract characteristics in patients with hoarding disorder.
• To identify specific white matter abnormalities associated with HD.
• To explore correlations between white matter changes and clinical features of HD.

Main Methods:

• Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) applied to 25 HD patients and 36 healthy controls.
• Analysis of major white matter tracts across the brain.
• Post hoc region of interest analysis for clinical correlations.

Main Results:

• Patients with HD exhibited decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity (RD) in widespread white matter tracts compared to controls.
• Significant negative correlation between hoarding severity and FA in the left anterior limb of the internal capsule.
• Significant positive correlation between hoarding severity and RD in the right anterior thalamic radiation.
• Broad alterations observed in frontal white matter tracts, including frontothalamic, frontoparietal, and frontolimbic pathways.

Conclusions:

• HD is associated with significant frontal white matter abnormalities.
• These abnormalities correlate with hoarding symptom severity.
• Findings suggest a neurobiological basis for cognitive dysfunction in HD related to white matter alterations.