title: Volumetric and shape analysis of the thalamus and striatum in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.
abstract: Alterations in brain structures, including progressive neurodegeneration, are a hallmark in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, pathological mechanisms, such as the accumulation of amyloid and the proliferation of tau, are thought to begin years, even decades, before the initial clinical manifestations of AD. In this study, we compare the brain anatomy of amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients (aMCI, n = 16) to healthy subjects (CS, n = 22) using cortical thickness, subcortical volume, and shape analysis, which we believe to be complimentary to volumetric measures. We were able to replicate "classical" cortical thickness alterations in aMCI in the hippocampus, amygdala, putamen, insula, and inferior temporal regions. Additionally, aMCI showed significant thalamic and striatal shape differences. We observed higher global amyloid deposition in aMCI, a significant correlation between striatal displacement and global amyloid, and an inverse correlation between executive function and right-hemispheric thalamic displacement. In contrast, no volumetric differences were detected in thalamic, striatal, and hippocampal regions. Our results provide new evidence for early subcortical neuroanatomical changes in patients with aMCI, which are linked to cognitive abilities and amyloid deposition. Hence, shape analysis may aid in the identification of structural biomarkers for identifying individuals at highest risk of conversion to AD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sandra E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Leh
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kälin
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada.|Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
authors.forename: Min Tae M
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada.|Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: M Mallar
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Chakravarty
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, Switzerland.|Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.|Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.|Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Freund
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anton F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gietl
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riese
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroradiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Spyros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kollias
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hock
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroradiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Michels
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000473:pathology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; cortical thickness; hippocampus; mild cognitive impairment; shape analysis; striatum; thalamus; volumetry