Is Total Brain Volume Correlated to Cognitive Function and Education in Patients with Alzheimer Disease?

AbstractCongenital heart disease is the most common birth defect, and patients are at risk for neurodevelopmental impairment and brain abnormalities. Yet, little is known about the link between brain volumes and cognitive function in adults with congenital heart disease. Forty-four patients and 53 controls between 18 and 32 years underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive testing, assessed with an intelligence quotient and executive function global score. Associations between brain volumes and cognitive function were calculated using linear models. Cognitive function in patients was within the normal range (intelligence quotient: 97.74 (10.76)). Total brain volume was significantly smaller in patients compared to controls (1067.26 (113.53) vs 1113.04 (97.88) cm3, P < 0.01), irrespective of cardiac factors (heart defect complexity, cyanosis, cardiopulmonary bypass: all P > 0.4). After adjusting for total brain volume, only corpus callosum volume remained significantly smaller (P = 0.03). Smaller total brain volume was associated with poorer overall executive functioning (P = 0.02) and inhibition (P < 0.01), in both patients and controls. The association between total brain volume and overall executive functioning was moderated by parental socioeconomic status (lower socioeconomic status was associated with a stronger association between brain volume and EF; interaction P = 0.03). In adults with congenital heart disease, despite normal intelligence quotient, brain volume alterations persist into adulthood and are related to executive functioning, in particular inhibitory control. Adults coming from low socioeconomic background and with altered brain volumes are especially vulnerable and should thus be followed-up during adulthood to ensure optimal social and educational support.

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Pyruvate to Lactate Metabolic Changes during Neurodevelopment Measured Dynamically Using Hyperpolarized 13C Imaging in Juvenile Murine Brain

Developmental Neuroscience ◽

10.1159/000439271 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 34-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Yiran Chen ◽

Hosung Kim ◽

Robert Bok ◽

Subramaniam Sukumar ◽

Xin Mu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Mouse Brain ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Metabolic Changes ◽

Brain Maturation ◽

Multiple Time ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Hyperpolarized 13C ◽

Total Brain

Hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance imaging has recently been used to dynamically image metabolism in vivo. This technique provides the capability to investigate metabolic changes in mouse brain development over multiple time points. In this study, we used 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging and hyperpolarized 13C-1-labeled pyruvate to analyze its conversion into lactate. We also applied T2-weighted anatomical imaging to examine brain volume changes starting from postnatal day 18 (P18). We combined these results with body weight measurements for a comprehensive interpretation of mouse brain maturation. Both the produced lactate level and pyruvate to lactate conversion rate decreased with increasing age in a linear manner. Total brain volume remained the same after P18, even though body weight continued to grow exponentially. Our results have shown that the rate of metabolism of 13C-1 pyruvate to lactate in brain is high in the young mouse and decreases with age. The brain at P18 is still relatively immature and continues to develop even as the total brain volume remains the same.

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Cognition, structural brain changes and complicated grief. A population-based study

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291714002499 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 45 (7) ◽

pp. 1389-1399 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

H. C. Saavedra Pérez ◽

M. A. Ikram ◽

N. Direk ◽

H. G. Prigerson ◽

R. Freak-Poli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Complicated Grief ◽

Population Based ◽

Word Fluency ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Total Brain ◽

Fluency Task ◽

Structural Brain

BackgroundSeveral psychosocial risk factors for complicated grief have been described. However, the association of complicated grief with cognitive and biological risk factors is unclear. The present study examined whether complicated grief and normal grief are related to cognitive performance or structural brain volumes in a large population-based study.MethodThe present research comprised cross-sectional analyses embedded in the Rotterdam Study. The study included 5501 non-demented persons. Participants were classified as experiencing no grief (n = 4731), normal grief (n = 615) or complicated grief (n = 155) as assessed with the Inventory of Complicated Grief. All persons underwent cognitive testing (Mini-Mental State Examination, Letter–Digit Substitution Test, Stroop Test, Word Fluency Task, word learning test – immediate and delayed recall), and magnetic resonance imaging to measure general brain parameters (white matter, gray matter), and white matter lesions. Total brain volume was defined as the sum of gray matter plus normal white matter and white matter lesion volume. Persons with depressive disorders were excluded and analyses were adjusted for depressive symptoms.ResultsCompared with no-grief participants, participants with complicated grief had lower scores for the Letter–Digit Substitution Test [Z-score −0.16 v. 0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.36 to −0.04, p = 0.01] and Word Fluency Task (Z-score −0.15 v. 0.03, 95% CI −0.35 to −0.02, p = 0.02) and smaller total volumes of brain matter (933.53 ml v. 952.42 ml, 95% CI −37.6 to −0.10, p = 0.04).ConclusionsParticipants with complicated grief performed poorly in cognitive tests and had a smaller total brain volume. Although the effect sizes were small, these findings suggest that there may be a neurological correlate of complicated grief, but not of normal grief, in the general population.

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Atrial Fibrillation and Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities

Stroke ◽

10.1161/strokeaha.118.024143 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 783-788 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jeremy P. Berman ◽

Faye L. Norby ◽

Thomas Mosley ◽

Elsayed Z. Soliman ◽

Rebecca F. Gottesman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Brain Mri ◽

Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

White Matter Hyperintensity ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Total Brain ◽

Sectional Analysis

Background and Purpose— Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with dementia independent of clinical stroke. The mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. In a community-based cohort, the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities), we evaluated (1) the longitudinal association of incident AF and (2) the cross-sectional association of prevalent AF with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities. Methods— The longitudinal analysis included 963 participants (mean age, 73±4.4 years; 62% women; 51% black) without prevalent stroke or AF who underwent a brain MRI in 1993 to 1995 and a second MRI in 2004 to 2006 (mean, 10.6±0.8 years). Outcomes included subclinical cerebral infarctions, sulcal size, ventricular size, and, for the cross-sectional analysis, white matter hyperintensity volume and total brain volume. Results— In the longitudinal analysis, 29 (3.0%) participants developed AF after the first brain MRI. Those who developed AF had higher odds of increase in subclinical cerebral infarctions (odds ratio [OR], 3.08; 95% CI, 1.39–6.83), worsening sulcal grade (OR, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.04–12.2), and worsening ventricular grade (OR, 9.34; 95% CI, 1.24–70.2). In cross-sectional analysis, of 969 participants, 35 (3.6%) had prevalent AF at the time of the 2004 to 2006 MRI scan. Those with AF had greater odds of higher sulcal (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.7–9.1) and ventricular grade (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.0–5.7) after multivariable adjustment and no difference in white matter hyperintensity or total brain volume. Conclusions— AF is independently associated with increase in subclinical cerebral infarction and worsening sulcal and ventricular grade—morphological changes associated with aging and dementia. More research is needed to define the mechanisms underlying AF-related neurodegeneration.

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Higher Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Lower Plasma Glucose Are Associated with Larger Gray Matter Volume but Not with White Matter or Total Brain Volume in Dutch Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Journal of Nutrition ◽

10.3945/jn.115.214197 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 145 (8) ◽

pp. 1817-1823 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Elske M Brouwer-Brolsma ◽

Nikita L van der Zwaluw ◽

Janneke P van Wijngaarden ◽

Rosalie A Dhonukshe-Rutten ◽

Paulette H in 't Veld ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Volume ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Lower Plasma ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

Total Brain ◽

Lower Plasma Glucose ◽

25 Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

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The Bidirectional Association between Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow and Brain Atrophy in the General Population

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism ◽

10.1038/jcbfm.2015.157 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 (11) ◽

pp. 1882-1887 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Hazel I Zonneveld ◽

Elizabeth A Loehrer ◽

Albert Hofman ◽

Wiro J Niessen ◽

Aad van der Lugt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Cerebral Blood Flow ◽

Brain Atrophy ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Total Brain ◽

Bidirectional Association

The question remains whether reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) leads to brain atrophy or vice versa. We studied the longitudinal relation between CBF and brain volume in a community-dwelling population. In the Rotterdam Study, 3011 participants (mean age 59.6 years (s.d. 8.0)) underwent repeat brain magnetic resonance imaging to quantify brain volume and CBF at two time points. Adjusted linear regression models were used to investigate the bidirectional relation between CBF and brain volume. We found that smaller brain volume at baseline was associated with a steeper decrease in CBF in the whole population (standardized change per s.d. increase of total brain volume (TBV) = 0.296 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.200; 0.393)). Only in persons aged ≥ 65 years, a lower CBF at baseline was associated with steeper decline of TBV (standardized change per s.d. increase of CBF = 0.003 (95% CI −0.004; 0.010) in the whole population and 0.020 (95% CI 0.004; 0.036) in those aged ≥65 years of age). Our results indicate that brain atrophy causes CBF to decrease over time, rather than vice versa. Only in persons aged >65 years of age did we find lower CBF to also relate to brain atrophy.

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Interthalamic adhesion size in aging dogs with presumptive spontaneous brain microhemorrhages: a comparative retrospective MRI study of dogs with and without evidence of canine cognitive dysfunction

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9012 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9012

Author(s):

Curtis W. Dewey ◽

Mark Rishniw ◽

Philippa J. Johnson ◽

Emma S. Davies ◽

Joseph J. Sackman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Decline ◽

Cognitive Dysfunction ◽

Brain Atrophy ◽

Clinical Evidence ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Mri Findings ◽

Disease Category ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Recent Onset ◽

Total Brain

Objective Spontaneous brain microhemorrhages in elderly people are present to some degree in Alzheimer’s disease patients but have been linked to brain atrophy in the absence of obvious cognitive decline. Brain microhemorrhages have recently been described in older dogs, but it is unclear whether these are associated with brain atrophy. Diminution of interthalamic adhesion size-as measured on MRI or CT-has been shown to be a reliable indicator of brain atrophy in dogs with canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) in comparison with successfully aging dogs. We hypothesized that aging dogs with brain microhemorrhages presenting for neurologic dysfunction but without obvious features of cognitive decline would have small interthalamic adhesion measurements, like dogs with CCD, compared with control dogs. The objective of this study was to compare interthalamic adhesion size between three groups of aging (>9 years) dogs: (1) neurologically impaired dogs with presumptive spontaneous brain microhemorrhages and no clinical evidence of cognitive dysfunction (2) dogs with CCD (3) dogs without clinical evidence of encephalopathy on neurologic examination (control dogs). MR images from 52 aging dogs were reviewed and measurements were obtained of interthalamic adhesion height (thickness) and mid-sagittal interthalamic adhesion area for all dogs, in addition to total brain volume. Interthalamic adhesion measurements, either absolute or normalized to total brain volume were compared between groups. Signalment (age, breed, sex), body weight, presence and number of SBMs, as well as other abnormal MRI findings were recorded for all dogs. Results All interthalamic adhesion measurement parameters were significantly (P < 0.05) different between control dogs and affected dogs. Both dogs with cognitive dysfunction (12/15; 80%) and dogs with isolated brain microhemorrhages had more microhemorrhages than control dogs (3/25; 12%). Affected dogs without cognitive dysfunction had significantly more microhemorrhages than dogs with cognitive dysfunction. In addition to signs of cognitive impairment for the CCD group, main clinical complaints for SBM and CCD dogs were referable to central vestibular dysfunction, recent-onset seizure activity, or both. Geriatric dogs with spontaneous brain microhemorrhages without cognitive dysfunction have similar MRI abnormalities as dogs with cognitive dysfunction but may represent a distinct disease category.

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Age-specific adult rat brain MRI templates and tissue probability maps

10.31219/osf.io/htgqn ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eilidh MacNicol ◽

Paul Wright ◽

Eugene Kim ◽

Irene Brusini ◽

Oscar Esteban ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Rat Brain ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Grey Matter Volume ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Adult Rat ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Probability Maps ◽

Total Brain

Age-specific resources mitigate biases in human MRI processing arising from structural changes across the lifespan. There are fewer age-specific resources for preclinical imaging, and they only represent developmental periods rather than adulthood. Since rats recapitulate many facets of human aging, it was hypothesized that brain volume and each tissue’s relative contribution to total brain volume would change with age in the adult rat. However, the currently available tissue probability maps, which provide a priori information for tissue volume estimation, provide inaccurate grey matter probabilities in subcortical structures, particularly the thalamus. Consequently, age-specific templates and tissue probability maps were generated from a longitudinal study that scanned a cohort of rats at 3, 5, 11, and 17 months old. Mixed-effects models assessed the effect of age on brain, grey matter, white matter, and CSF volumes, and the relative tissue proportions. Grey and white matter volume increased with age, and the tissue proportions relative to total brain volume varied throughout adulthood. Furthermore, we present evidence of a systematic underestimation of thalamic grey matter volume with existing resources, which is mitigated with the use of age-specific tissue probability maps since the derived estimates better matched histological evidence. To reduce age-related biases in image pre-processing, a set of rat brain resources from across the adult lifespan is consequently released to expand the preclinical MRI community’s fundamental resources.

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The Developing Brain in Down Syndrome

The Oxford Handbook of Down Syndrome and Development ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190645441.013.11 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nancy Raitano Lee ◽

Manisha D. Udhnani ◽

Taralee Hamner

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Brain Volume ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

Developing Brain ◽

Subcortical Structures ◽

Total Brain Volume ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Current Review ◽

Total Brain ◽

Pediatric Populations

Research on the developing brain in persons with Down syndrome has grown in recent years thanks to advances in neuroimaging approaches that are safe for pediatric populations. This literature documents global reductions in total brain volume as well as specific alterations in both cortical and subcortical structures. These include reductions in hippocampal and cerebellar volumes (that are in excess of reduced total brain volume) as well as abnormalities in frontal and temporal lobe anatomy. Recent neuroimaging research has highlighted the importance of using fine-grained approaches to characterizing cortical and subcortical anatomy in persons with Down syndrome as well as interpreting these findings within the context of research on typical brain development. In the current review, we attempt to synthesize this literature from a developmental perspective. Our hope is that this developmental focus will lead to discoveries about the biological underpinnings and unfolding of the learning difficulties associated with Down syndrome.

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