title: White matter integrity and cognitive dysfunction: Radiological and neuropsychological correlations.
abstract: Cerebral white matter (WM) is comprised of nerve fibers interconnecting neurons in the cerebral cortex or the deep structures. With advancing age, WM frequently shows hyperintense lesions in T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images in both the periventricular and deep WM. Patients with these WM lesions might manifest a variety of symptoms, such as parkinsonism, cognitive impairment, depression and apathy, when these WM lesions become sufficiently confluent and diffuse. However, there are inconsistencies with respect to their clinical significance, because patients with extensive WM lesions might remain asymptomatic. The present review focuses on the pathological mechanism underlying why the loss of integrity of nerve fibers in the WM induces neuropsychological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomimoto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D015994:Incidence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; anisotropy; dementia; vascular dementia; white matter