title: Resting state fMRI regional homogeneity correlates with cognition measures in subcortical vascular cognitive impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The hyperintensity of cerebral white matter (WM) in T2-weighted MR images of elderly subjects due to small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with variable clinical features including mild cognitive impairment (MCI), also termed subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI). The latter is typically characterized by psychomotor slowing, attention deficits, and executive dysfunctions. We hypothesized that functional brain changes might be associated with these distinctive cognitive deficits in patients with SVCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) signal was assessed in conjunction with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment battery (MoCA) and Stroop test in 67 subjects with MCI and moderate to severe extension of cerebral WM T2 hyperintensities qualifying for SVCI. We performed a whole-brain analysis of regional homogeneity (ReHo) of rsfMRI in conjunction with cognitive test scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed a significant (p<0.05) negative association between ReHo and MoCA scores, with higher ReHo in the left posterior cerebellum (crus I) of patients with greater global cognitive impairment, and a significant positive association between ReHo and Stroop scores, with higher ReHo in the middle cingulate cortex bilaterally of patients with worse executive functions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ReHo of rsfMRI is significantly correlated with measurements of the cognitive deficits which are distinctive of SVCI. The increased activity could have a maladaptive or compensatory significance towards specific aspects of cognition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.diciotti@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diciotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orsolini
authors.affiliation: NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salvadori
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giorgio
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Section, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Toschi
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Section, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; "Mario Serio" Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ciulli
authors.affiliation: Neuroradiology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ginestroni
authors.affiliation: NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poggesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Stefano
authors.affiliation: NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pantoni
authors.affiliation: NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Inzitari
authors.affiliation: "Mario Serio" Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Quantitative and Functional Neuroradiology Research Program at Meyer Children Hospital and Careggi General Hospital, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mascalchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012146:Rest
keywords: Cerebral small vessel disease; Cognition; Executive function; White matter; fMRI