Component diffusion tensor analysis suggests disparate temporal stem and fornix white matter pathology in Mild Cognitive Impairment
type: CreativeWork
description: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. The progressive development of specific cognitive deficits, initially affecting short-term memory and spreading to more global cognitive decline, is paralleled by the progressive deterioration of specific brain regions. In this way, function and structure are intricately linked in disease progression. Successful identification of individuals with very early probable AD would have major implications for targeting research into prevention or treatment of AD. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a clinical condition representing the transition state from normal cognitive aging to AD. Investigation of individuals with this condition provides an opportunity to assess factors that predict the course of neurodegeneration. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become increasingly common in the in vivo investigation of the structural integrity of biological tissue. This Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method captures the varied propensity of water molecules to diffuse in tissue, making it possible to characterize the type, structure, and integrity of the tissue. Using DTI, we investigated the diffusivity in multiple regions of interest (ROIs) in the brain in individuals with MCI. We employed both commonly used, summative metrics of the diffusion tensor, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), as well as components of the diffusion tensor, axial diffusivity (DA) and radial diffusivity (DR) in these regions. We also investigated the relationships between regionally specific DTI measures and neuropsychological measures of memory. We present data suggesting that integrity of the white matter (WM) of the limbic system, specifically the fornix, is reduced in the early stages of neurodegeneration observed in MCI. We also present data which indicate fornix integrity is linked to specific decrements in a neuropsychological measure known to be selectively sensitive to coordinated parahippocampal activity. Lastly, …
abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. The progressive development of specific cognitive deficits, initially affecting short-term memory and spreading to more global cognitive decline, is paralleled by the progressive deterioration of specific brain regions. In this way, function and structure are intricately linked in disease progression. Successful identification of individuals with very early probable AD would have major implications for targeting research into prevention or treatment of AD. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a clinical condition representing the transition state from normal cognitive aging to AD. Investigation of individuals with this condition provides an opportunity to assess factors that predict the course of neurodegeneration. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become increasingly common in the in vivo investigation of the structural integrity of biological tissue. This Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method captures the varied propensity of water molecules to diffuse in tissue, making it possible to characterize the type, structure, and integrity of the tissue. Using DTI, we investigated the diffusivity in multiple regions of interest (ROIs) in the brain in individuals with MCI. We employed both commonly used, summative metrics of the diffusion tensor, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), as well as components of the diffusion tensor, axial diffusivity (DA) and radial diffusivity (DR) in these regions. We also investigated the relationships between regionally specific DTI measures and neuropsychological measures of memory. We present data suggesting that integrity of the white matter (WM) of the limbic system, specifically the fornix, is reduced in the early stages of neurodegeneration observed in MCI. We also present data which indicate fornix integrity is linked to specific decrements in a neuropsychological measure known to be selectively sensitive to coordinated parahippocampal activity. Lastly, …
author: Boespflug, Erin L.
language: English
keywords: Neurology, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's disease, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Fornix, Associative Learning, Disconnection Syndrome
date published: 2012
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:36:23Z
provider: OhioLINK
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cincinnati