White Matter but not Gray Matter Volumes Are Associated with Cognition in Community-Dwelling Chinese Populations

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wang, Quan^{a; 1} | Su, Ning^{a; 1} | Huang, Jin^e | Liang, Xinyu^b | Yuan, Jing^a | Yao, Ming^a | Zhou, Li-Xin^a | Jin, Zheng-Yu^c | Zhang, Shu-Yang^d | Cui, Li-Ying^a | Gong, Gaolang^b | Tian, Feng^e | Zhu, Yi-Cheng^{a; *} | Ni, Jun^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology , State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [b] State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China | [c] Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [d] Department of Cardiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [e] State Key Laboratory of Computer Science, Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Jun Ni, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China. Tel.: +86 10 69156372; Fax: +86 10 69156372; E-mail: pumchnijun@163.com and Yi-Cheng Zhu, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No.1 Shuaifuyuan, Wangfujing, Beijing 100730, China. Tel.: +86 10 69154059; Fax: +86 10 69156372; E-mail: zhuych910@163.com.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this study.

Abstract: Background:Few studies have investigated the association between cognition and brain volume associated with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Objective:We investigated the association between cognition and brain volume and neuroimaging markers of CSVD in a community-dwelling population. Methods:Participants (n = 993, age≥35 years) from the community-based Shunyi Study were included to investigate the association between neuroimaging markers and cognition cross-sectionally. Magnetic resonance imaging markers included brain volume measurements of the total cerebrum, white matter, gray matter, and CSVD imaging markers. Cognitive performance was assessed using neuropsychological tests of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Fuld Object Memory, digit span, Trail Making Test (TMT)-A, and TMT-B. Results:For brain volume measurement, subcortical white matter fraction was positively associated with MMSE score (β= 0.034, p = 0.0062) and MoCA score (β= 0.034, p = 0.0174), and negatively associated with TMT-A and TMT-B completion time (β= –2.319, p = 0.0002; β= –2.827, p = 0.0073, respectively). For evaluation of CSVD imaging markers, the presence of lacunes was positively associated with TMT-B completion time (β= 17.241, p = 0.0028). Conclusion:In community-dwelling populations, reduced white matter volumes, as a consequence of aging and vascular damage, are associated with worse global cognition and executive function. Our findings provide potential insights into the correlation between cognition and CSVD-associated subcortical white matter injury.

Keywords: Brain volume, cerebral small vessel disease, cognition, gray matter, magnetic resonance imaging, white matter

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-210367

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 367-375, 2021