title: Altered tract-specific white matter microstructure is related to poorer cognitive performance: The Rotterdam Study.
abstract: White matter microstructural integrity has been related to cognition. Yet, the potential role of specific white matter tracts on top of a global white matter effect remains unclear, especially when considering specific cognitive domains. Therefore, we determined the tract-specific effect of white matter microstructure on global cognition and specific cognitive domains. In 4400 nondemented and stroke-free participants (mean age 63.7 years, 55.5% women), we obtained diffusion magnetic resonance imaging parameters (fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity) in 14 white matter tracts using probabilistic tractography and assessed cognitive performance with a cognitive test battery. Tract-specific white matter microstructure in all supratentorial tracts was associated with poorer global cognition. Lower fractional anisotropy in association tracts, primarily the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and higher mean diffusivity in projection tracts, in particular the posterior thalamic radiation, most strongly related to poorer cognition. Altered white matter microstructure related to poorer information processing speed, executive functioning, and motor speed, but not to memory. Tract-specific microstructural changes may aid in better understanding the mechanism of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lotte G M
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Cremers
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gabriel P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Krestin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Lugt
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Imaging Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wiro J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Niessen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: m.vernooij@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Meike W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Vernooij
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: M Arfan
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ikram
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Cognition; Diffusion MRI; Epidemiology; Neurodegeneration; Population based; Tractography; White matter