title: Different Patterns of Correlation between Grey and White Matter Integrity Account for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: Behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms (BPSD) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are known to correlate with grey matter (GM) atrophy and, as shown recently, also with white matter (WM) damage. WM damage and its relationship with GM atrophy are reported in AD, reinforcing the interpretation of the AD pathology in light of a disconnection syndrome. It remains uncertain whether this disconnection might account also for different BPSD observable in AD. Here, we tested the hypothesis of different patterns of association between WM damage of the corpus callosum (CC) and GM atrophy in AD patients exhibiting one of the following BPSD clusters: Mood (i.e., anxiety and depression; ADmood), Frontal (i.e., dishinibition and elation; ADfrontal), and Psychotic (delusions and hallucinations; ADpsychotic) related symptoms, as well as AD patients without BPSD. Overall, this study brings to light the strict relationship between WM alterations in different parts of the CC and GM atrophy in AD patients exhibiting BPSD, supporting the hypothesis that such symptoms are likely to be caused by characteristic patterns of neurodegeneration of WM and GM, rather than being a reactive response to accumulation of cognitive disabilities, and should therefore be regarded as potential markers of diagnostic and prognostic value in AD.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Makovac
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spanò
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giulietti
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torso
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.|Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton, Falmer, UK.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cercignani
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.|Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozzali
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; behavioral; grey matter; magnetic resonance imaging; white matter