title: Corpus Callosum Structure is Topographically Correlated with the Early Course of Cognition and Depression in Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: Corpus callosum (CC) abnormalities may cause cognitive and neuropsychiatric complications due to reduced hemispheric integration. Over a one-year period, we investigated whether the CC structure of 20 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) was linked to the evolution of cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We also investigated whether this anatomical-clinical relationship was localized topographically on the CC by combining voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging approaches. We assessed patients' global cognitive deterioration and neuropsychiatric symptoms with the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Increased global cognitive deterioration during the early course of AD was significantly related to reduced white matter density (p = 0.004) and fractional anisotropy (FA) (p = 0.012) and increased mean diffusivity (MD) (p = 0.017) at the level of the CC isthmus/splenium. Further, increased depression severity was significantly related to reduced FA (p = 0.008) and increased MD (p = 0.018) at the level of the CC rostrum. These results indicate that changes in early myelinated CC fibers, which subserve the lateral temporal and parietal cortices and are less vulnerable to damage, may be related to cognitive impairment. Furthermore, changes in late myelinated CC fibers, which connect the orbitofrontal cortices and are more vulnerable to damage, may be related to the earliest neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD, such as depression.
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy LUMSA University, Department of Human Studies, Piazza delle Vaschette, Rome, Italy.
authors: Margherita
authors: M
authors: Di Paola
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy Neuroscience Department, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors: Owen
authors: O
authors: Phillips
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors: Maria Donata
authors: MD
authors: Orfei
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors: Fabrizio
authors: F
authors: Piras
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Cacciari
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy Neuroscience Department, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Caltagirone
authors: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy Beth K. and Stuart C. Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors: Gianfranco
authors: G
authors: Spalletta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
keywords: Cognitive domain; Mini-Mental State Examination; corpus callosum; depression; diffusion tensor imaging; diffusivity; drug-free; first diagnosed AD; fractional anisotropy; mean diffusivity; mild Alzheimer's disease; neuropsychiatric symptoms; structural MRI; volume; voxel-based morphometry