Executive function and magnetic resonance imaging subcortical hyperintensities in vascular dementia.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relation between subcortical hyperintensities (SHs) visible on magnetic resonance imaging and executive function among patients with vascular dementia.


BACKGROUND
The relation between SHs and executive dysfunction is not well understood, because studies have varied widely in methodology and have produced conflicting results.


METHODS
We examined the relation between SHs (expressed as a percentage of total brain volume, not including ventricular volume) and six tests of executive function in a well-defined group of 24 individuals with vascular dementia. Executive tests were divided in two groups: Attention/Speed and Abstraction/Problem Solving. Bivariate correlations were computed between individual neuropsychological variables and SHs.


RESULTS
Results showed significant bivariate correlations between SHs and three of the four tests in the Attention/Speed domain. Subcortical hyperintensities shared virtually no association with performance on tests in the Abstraction/Problem-Solving domain.


CONCLUSIONS
The finding that SHs are significantly associated with psychomotor slowing and attentional dysfunction is consistent with what is known about the behavioral manifestations of subcortical disease. More detailed investigations of the regional distribution of SHs as well as measures of atrophy, hypoperfusion, and hypometabolism may be necessary to accurately characterize the complex relation between vascular disease and different aspects of executive dysfunction.
Moser
D J
DJ
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52240, USA. david-moser@uiowa.edu
Cohen
R A
RA
Paul
R H
RH
Paulsen
J S
JS
Ott
B R
BR
Gordon
N M
NM
Bell
S
S
Stone
W M
WM
D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index