Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2024;101(1):61-73. doi: 10.3233/JAD-231196.
Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), considered as the prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by isolated memory impairment and cerebral gray matter volume (GMV) alterations. Previous structural MRI studies in aMCI have been mainly based on univariate statistics using voxel-based morphometry.
We investigated structural network differences between aMCI patients and cognitively normal older adults by using source-based morphometry, a multivariate approach that considers the relationship between voxels of various parts of the brain.
Ninety-one aMCI patients and 80 cognitively normal controls underwent structural MRI and neuropsychological assessment. Spatially independent components (ICs) that covaried between participants were estimated and a multivariate analysis of covariance was performed with ICs as dependent variables, diagnosis as independent variable, and age, sex, education level, and site as covariates.
aMCI patients exhibited reduced GMV in the precentral, temporo-cerebellar, frontal, and temporal network, and increased GMV in the left superior parietal network compared to controls (pFWER < 0.05, Holm-Bonferroni correction). Moreover, we found that diagnosis, more specifically aMCI, moderated the positive relationship between occipital network and Mini-Mental State Examination scores (pFWER < 0.05, Holm-Bonferroni correction).
Our results showed GMV alterations in temporo-fronto-parieto-cerebellar networks in aMCI, extending previous results obtained with univariate approaches.
遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）被认为是阿尔茨海默病的前驱阶段，其特征是孤立的记忆障碍和大脑灰质体积（GMV）改变。以前的 aMCI 结构 MRI 研究主要基于基于体素的形态测量学的单变量统计方法。
我们通过基于源的形态测量学来研究 aMCI 患者和认知正常的老年人之间的结构网络差异，这是一种多变量方法，考虑了大脑各个部位之间的体素关系。
91 名 aMCI 患者和 80 名认知正常对照者接受了结构 MRI 和神经心理学评估。估计了参与者之间协变的空间独立成分（ICs），并以 ICs 为因变量、诊断为自变量、年龄、性别、教育水平和地点为协变量，进行了多元协方差分析。
与对照组相比，aMCI 患者表现出中央前回、颞脑桥、额和颞网络 GMV 减少，左侧顶网络 GMV 增加（pFWER<0.05， Holm-Bonferroni 校正）。此外，我们发现诊断，更具体地说是 aMCI，调节了枕叶网络与简易精神状态检查评分之间的正相关关系（pFWER<0.05， Holm-Bonferroni 校正）。
我们的结果显示 aMCI 患者存在颞额顶枕小脑网络的 GMV 改变，扩展了以前使用单变量方法获得的结果。
