Mulet-Pons Lídia, Solé-Padullés Cristina, Cabello-Toscano María, Abellaneda-Pérez Kilian, Perellón-Alfonso Ruben, Cattaneo Gabriele, Solana Sánchez Javier, Alviarez-Schulze Vanessa, Bargalló Nuria, Tormos-Muñoz Josep M, Pascual-Leone Alvaro, Bartrés-Faz David, Vaqué-Alcázar Lídia
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 Aug 13;16:1441359. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1441359. eCollection 2024.
Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) express concern about self-perceived cognitive decline despite no objective impairment and are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Despite documented links between SCD and repetitive negative thinking (RNT), the specific impact of RNT on brain integrity and cognition in exacerbating the SCD condition remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the influence of RNT on global cognition and brain integrity, and their interrelationships among healthy middle-aged and older adults experiencing SCD.
Out of 616 individuals with neuroimaging and neuropsychological data available, 89 (mean age = 56.18 years; 68.54% females) met SCD criteria. Eighty-nine non-SCD individuals matched by age, sex, and education were also selected and represented the control group (mean age = 56.09 years; 68.54% females). Global cognition was measured using the preclinical Alzheimer's cognitive composite (PACC5), which includes dementia screening, episodic memory, processing speed, and category fluency tests. RNT was calculated through three questionnaires assessing intrusive thoughts, persistent worry, and rumination. We generated cortical thickness (CTh) maps and quantified the volume of white matter lesions (WML) in the whole brain, as grey and white matter integrity measures, respectively.
SCD individuals exhibited higher RNT scores, and thinner right temporal cortex compared to controls. No differences were observed in PACC5 and WML burden between groups. Only the SCD group demonstrated positive associations in the CTh-PACC5, CTh-RNT, and WML-RNT relationships.
In this cross-sectional study, RNT was exclusively associated with brain integrity in SCD. Even though our findings align with the broader importance of investigating treatable psychological factors in SCD, further research may reveal a modulatory effect of RNT on the relationship between cognition and brain integrity in SCD.
主观认知下降（SCD）个体虽无客观认知损害，但对自身感知到的认知下降表示担忧，且患阿尔茨海默病的风险更高。尽管有文献记载SCD与重复性消极思维（RNT）之间存在联系，但RNT对大脑完整性和认知在加重SCD病情方面的具体影响仍不清楚。我们旨在研究RNT对经历SCD的健康中年和老年人的整体认知和大脑完整性的影响，以及它们之间的相互关系。
在616名有神经影像学和神经心理学数据的个体中，89名（平均年龄 = 56.18岁；68.54%为女性）符合SCD标准。还选取了89名在年龄、性别和教育程度上匹配的非SCD个体作为对照组（平均年龄 = 56.09岁；68.54%为女性）。使用临床前阿尔茨海默病认知综合量表（PACC5）测量整体认知，该量表包括痴呆筛查、情景记忆、处理速度和类别流畅性测试。通过三份评估侵入性思维、持续性担忧和沉思的问卷计算RNT。我们生成了皮质厚度（CTh）图，并分别作为灰质和白质完整性指标，量化了全脑白质病变（WML）的体积。
与对照组相比，SCD个体表现出更高的RNT分数和更薄的右侧颞叶皮质。两组在PACC5和WML负担方面未观察到差异。仅SCD组在CTh - PACC5、CTh - RNT和WML - RNT关系中表现出正相关。
在这项横断面研究中，RNT仅与SCD中的大脑完整性相关。尽管我们的研究结果与在SCD中研究可治疗心理因素的更广泛重要性一致，但进一步的研究可能会揭示RNT对SCD中认知与大脑完整性之间关系的调节作用。
