title: Preclinical Cerebral Network Connectivity Evidence of Deficits in Mild White Matter Lesions.
abstract: White matter lesions (WMLs) are notable for their high prevalence and have been demonstrated to be a potential neuroimaging biomarker of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to identify the brain functional and structural mechanisms underlying cognitive decline observed in mild WMLs. Multi-domain cognitive tests, as well as resting-state, diffusion tensor and structural images were obtained on 42 mild WMLs and 42 age/sex-matched healthy controls. For each participant, we examined the functional connectivity (FC) of three resting-state networks (RSNs) related to the changed cognitive domains: the default mode network (DMN) and the bilateral fronto-parietal network (FPN). We also performed voxel-based morphometry analysis to compare whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume, atlas-based quantification of the white matter tracts interconnecting the RSNs, and the relationship between FC and structural connectivity. We observed FC alterations in the DMN and the right FPN combined with related white matter integrity disruption in mild WMLs. However, no significant GM atrophy difference was found. Furthermore, the right precuneus FC in the DMN exhibited a significantly negative correlation with the memory test scores. Our study suggests that in mild WMLs, dysfunction of RSNs might be a consequence of decreased white matter structural connectivity, which further affects cognitive performance.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Shijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yaou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ruiwang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhanjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: cognitive impairments; functional connectivity; mild white matter lesions; resting-state networks; white matter integrity