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Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure are associated with cognitive performance from childhood to adulthood.

ABSTRACT: Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure have been well established across the life span. In the present cross-sectional study, we examined whether these differences are associated with neurocognitive performance from childhood to late adulthood.Diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 296 healthy subjects aged 8 to 68 years (mean = 29.6, SD = 14.6). The corpus callosum, two projection tracts, and five association tracts were traced using probabilistic tractography. A neurocognitive test battery was used to assess speed of processing, attention, spatial working memory, verbal functioning, visual learning, and executive functioning. Linear mediation models were used to examine whether differences in white matter tract fractional anisotropy (FA) were associated with neurocognitive performance, independent of the effect of age.From childhood to early adulthood, higher FA of the cingulum bundle and inferior frontooccipital fasciculus (IFOF) was associated with higher executive functioning and global cognitive functioning, respectively, independent of the effect of age. When adjusting for speed of processing, FA of the IFOF was no longer associated with performance in the other cognitive domains with the exception of visual learning. From early adulthood to late adulthood, white matter tract FA was not associated with cognitive performance independent of the age effect.The cingulum bundle may play a critical role in protracted maturation of executive functioning. The IFOF may play a key role in maturation of visual learning and may act as a central "hub" in global cognitive maturation by subserving maturation of processing speed.

SUBMITTER: Peters BD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4412928 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure are associated with cognitive performance from childhood to adulthood.

Peters Bart D BD Ikuta Toshikazu T DeRosse Pamela P John Majnu M Burdick Katherine E KE Gruner Patricia P Prendergast Daniel M DM Szeszko Philip R PR Malhotra Anil K AK

Biological psychiatry 20130702 3

<h4>Background</h4>Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure have been well established across the life span. In the present cross-sectional study, we examined whether these differences are associated with neurocognitive performance from childhood to late adulthood.<h4>Methods</h4>Diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 296 healthy subjects aged 8 to 68 years (mean = 29.6, SD = 14.6). The corpus callosum, two projection tracts, and five association tracts were traced using p ...[more]

PMID: 23830668

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Project description:BackgroundMounting evidence links poor sleep quality with a higher risk of late-life dementia. However, the structural and cognitive correlates of insomnia are still not well understood. The study aims were to characterize the cognitive performance and brain structural pattern of cognitively unimpaired adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) with insomnia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 1683 cognitively unimpaired middle/late-middle-aged adults from the ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) study who underwent neuropsychological assessment, T1-weighted structural imaging (n = 366), and diffusion-weighted imaging (n = 334). The World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to define the presence or absence of insomnia. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate differences in cognitive performance between individuals with and without insomnia, as well as potential interactions between insomnia and the APOE genotype. Voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics were used to assess between-group differences and potential interactions between insomnia and the APOE genotype in gray matter volume and white matter diffusion metrics.ResultsInsomnia was reported by 615 out of 1683 participants (36.5%), including 137 out of 366 (37.4%) with T1-weighted structural imaging available and 119 out of 334 (35.6%) with diffusion-weighted imaging. Individuals with insomnia (n = 615) performed worse in executive function tests than non-insomniacs and displayed lower gray matter volume in left orbitofrontal and right middle temporal cortex, bilateral precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus, higher gray matter volume in the left caudate nucleus, and widespread reduction of mean and axial diffusivity in right hemisphere white matter tracts. Insomnia interacted with the APOE genotype, with APOE-ε4 carriers displaying lower gray matter volumes when insomnia was present, but higher volumes when insomnia was not present, in several gray matter regions, including the left angular gyrus, the bilateral superior frontal gyri, the thalami, and the right hippocampus.ConclusionsInsomnia in cognitively unimpaired adults at increased risk for AD is associated to poorer performance in some executive functions and volume changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter, including key areas involved in Alzheimer's disease, as well as decreased white matter diffusivity.

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Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure are associated with cognitive performance from childhood to adulthood.

Publications

Age-related differences in white matter tract microstructure are associated with cognitive performance from childhood to adulthood.

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