Nilsson Jonna, Thomas Alan J, O'Brien John T, Gallagher Peter
Institute of Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2014 Mar;20(3):262-267. doi: 10.1017/S1355617713001458. Epub 2014 Feb 17.
White matter (WM) change plays an important role in age-related cognitive decline. In this review, we consider methodological advances with particular relevance to the role of WM in age-related changes in processing speed. In this context, intra-individual variability in processing speed performance has emerged as a sensitive proxy of cognitive and neurological decline while neuroimaging techniques used to assess WM change have become increasingly more sensitive. Together with a carefully designed task protocol, we emphasize that the combined implementation of intra-individual variability and neuroimaging techniques hold promise for specifying the WM-processing speed relationship with implications for normative and clinical samples.
白质（WM）变化在与年龄相关的认知衰退中起着重要作用。在本综述中，我们探讨了与WM在与年龄相关的处理速度变化中所起作用特别相关的方法学进展。在这种背景下，处理速度表现的个体内变异性已成为认知和神经衰退的敏感指标，而用于评估WM变化的神经成像技术也变得越来越敏感。我们强调，结合精心设计的任务方案，个体内变异性和神经成像技术的联合应用有望明确WM与处理速度之间的关系，这对正常样本和临床样本都具有重要意义。
