title: Interference and conflict monitoring in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A structural study of the anterior cingulate cortex.
abstract: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a clinical condition characterized by memory impairment in the absence of any other cognitive impairment and is commonly associated with high conversion to Alzheimer's disease. Recent evidence shows that executive functions and selective attention mechanisms could also be impaired in aMCI. In this study, we investigated performance differences (i.e., reaction times [RTs] and accuracy) between a group of aMCI participants and a group of age-matched healthy individuals on the attentional network task (ANT) focusing on situations with increased interference. In particular, we assessed the relationship between interference and conflict effects and grey matter volumes (GMVs) of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)/pre-supplementary motor area in the entire sample because of its crucial role in conflict monitoring. When compared with controls, aMCI participants were less accurate on the ANT, showing increased interference and conflict effects, but no differences in RTs. In addition, aMCI participants exhibited lower GMV in the ACC than controls. While better accuracy for interference and conflict effects was associated with an increase of GMV in the ACC for both groups, RTs from the interference effect were negatively correlated with GMV of the ACC only in aMCI participants. In other words, lower GMV values of the ACC were paralleled with significantly impaired performance in terms of interference resolution. In conclusion, our study suggests the presence of a selective impairment in interference and conflict monitoring in aMCI, which in turn is associated with decreased GMVs in the ACC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Virginia M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Borsa
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.|Free University of Bolzan, Bolzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Pasquale A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Della Rosa
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Study - IUSS, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Catricalà
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iadanza
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falini
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Jubin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abutalebi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University San Raffaele and Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iannaccone
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000647:Amnesia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance
keywords: VBM; amnestic mild cognitive impairment; anterior cingulate cortex; attentional control; conflict monitoring