Ingwersen Thies, Mayer Carola, Petersen Marvin, Frey Benedikt M, Fiehler Jens, Hanning Uta, Kühn Simone, Gallinat Jürgen, Twerenbold Raphael, Gerloff Christian, Cheng Bastian, Thomalla Götz, Schlemm Eckhard
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Department of Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2024 Apr 25;2. doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00122. eCollection 2024.
We aimed to replicate recent findings on the association between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), functional brain network dedifferentiation, and cognitive impairment. We analyzed demographic, imaging, and behavioral data from the prospective population-based Hamburg City Health Study. Using a fully prespecified analysis pipeline, we estimated discrete brain states from structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In a multiverse analysis, we varied brain parcellations and functional MRI confound regression strategies. The severity of cSVD was operationalized as the volume of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin. Processing speed and executive dysfunction were quantified using the Trail Making Test (TMT). We hypothesized a) that a greater volume of supratentorial white matter hyperintensities would be associated with less time spent in functional MRI-derived brain states of high fractional occupancy; and b) that less time spent in these high-occupancy brain states associated with a longer time to completion in part B of the TMT. High-occupancy brain states were characterized by activation or suppression of the default mode network. Every -fold increase in WMH volume was associated with a -fold reduction in the odds of occupying DMN-related brain states (P = ). Every increase in time spent in high-occupancy brain states was associated with a -fold reduction in the TMT-B completion time (P = ). Findings were robust across most brain parcellations and confound regression strategies. In conclusion, we successfully replicated previous findings on the association between cSVD, functional brain occupancy, and cognition in an independent sample. The data provide further evidence for a functional network dedifferentiation hypothesis of cSVD-related cognitive impairment. Further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these associations.
我们旨在重复最近关于脑小血管疾病（cSVD）程度、功能性脑网络去分化和认知障碍之间关联的研究结果。我们分析了基于前瞻性人群的汉堡城市健康研究中的人口统计学、影像学和行为数据。使用一个完全预先指定的分析流程，我们从结构和静息态功能磁共振成像（MRI）中估计离散的脑状态。在多变量分析中，我们改变了脑图谱划分和功能MRI混杂回归策略。cSVD的严重程度通过假定血管源性白质高信号的体积来衡量。使用连线测验（TMT）对处理速度和执行功能障碍进行量化。我们假设：a）幕上白质高信号体积越大，与功能性MRI衍生的高分数占有率脑状态下花费的时间越少相关；b）在这些高占有率脑状态下花费的时间越少，与TMT B部分完成时间越长相关。高占有率脑状态的特征是默认模式网络的激活或抑制。WMH体积每增加 - 倍，与占据DMN相关脑状态的几率降低 - 倍相关（P = ）。在高占有率脑状态下花费的时间每增加 ，与TMT - B完成时间降低 - 倍相关（P = ）。在大多数脑图谱划分和混杂回归策略中，研究结果都很稳健。总之，我们在一个独立样本中成功重复了先前关于cSVD、功能性脑占有率和认知之间关联的研究结果。这些数据为cSVD相关认知障碍的功能网络去分化假说提供了进一步的证据。需要进一步的研究来阐明这些关联背后的机制。
