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Reduced Inter-Voxel White Matter Integrity in Subjective Cognitive Decline: Diffusion Tensor Imaging With Tract-Based
Yi-Ping Chao1,2, Po-Ting Bertram Liu3,4, Pei-Ning Wang5,6
1Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) show altered white matter integrity, particularly in the left superior frontal gyrus and left lingual gyrus. These changes in local diffusion homogeneity (LDH) and diffusivity (DA) may precede objective cognitive deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a precursor to mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, characterized by self-reported cognitive worsening despite normal test performance.
- Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies on SCD have yielded inconsistent findings, primarily focusing on within-voxel diffusion properties.
- The role of local diffusion homogeneity (LDH), reflecting diffusion profiles between neighboring voxels, remains unexplored in SCD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in local diffusion homogeneity (LDH) and axial diffusivity (DA) in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) using DTI.
- To explore potential white matter integrity changes in SCD that may precede objective cognitive impairment.
Main Methods:
- Whole-brain DTI data were acquired from 30 healthy controls (HCs) and 23 SCD subjects.
- Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were employed for diffusion image analysis.
- Region-of-interest (ROI)-based comparisons were conducted on extracted diffusion indices from significant between-group tract clusters.
Main Results:
- SCD subjects exhibited reduced LDH in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and reduced DA in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared to HCs.
- Conversely, SCD subjects showed increased LDH in the left lingual gyrus (LG) compared to HCs.
- A significant negative correlation was observed between LDH in the left SFG and LDH in the left LG.
Conclusions:
- White matter integrity, specifically in the left SFG, right ACC, and left LG, is altered in individuals with SCD.
- These findings suggest that detectable white matter changes, indexed by LDH and DA, occur in SCD before the onset of objective cognitive deficits.
- LDH may serve as a sensitive marker for detecting early white matter alterations in the progression towards cognitive impairment.
