Repository logo
  • Log In
    Log in via Symplectic to deposit your publication(s).
Repository logo
  • Communities & Collections
  • Research Outputs
  • Statistics
  • Log In
    Log in via Symplectic to deposit your publication(s).
  1. Home
  2. Faculty of Medicine
  3. Department of Brain Sciences
  4. Splenial white matter integrity is associated with memory impairments in posterior cortical atrophy
 
  • Details
Splenial white matter integrity is associated with memory impairments in posterior cortical atrophy
File(s)
Splenial white matter integrity is associated with memory impairments in posterior cortical atrophy.pdf (541.37 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Overman, Margot Juliette
Zamboni, Giovanna
Butler, Christopher
Ahmed, Samrah
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Posterior cortical atrophy is an atypical form of Alzheimer’s disease characterized by visuospatial impairments and predominant tissue loss in the posterior parieto-occipital and temporo-occipital cortex. Whilst episodic memory is traditionally thought to be relatively preserved in posterior cortical atrophy, recent work indicates that memory impairments form a common clinical symptom in the early stages of the disease. Neuroimaging studies suggest that memory dysfunction in posterior cortical atrophy may originate from atrophy and functional hypoconnectivity of parietal cortex. The structural connectivity patterns underpinning these memory impairments, however, have not been investigated. This line of inquiry is of particular interest, as changes in white matter tracts of posterior cortical atrophy patients have been shown to be more extensive than expected based on posterior atrophy of grey matter. In this cross-sectional diffusion tensor imaging MRI study, we examine the relationship between white matter microstructure and verbal episodic memory in posterior cortical atrophy. We assessed episodic memory performance in a group of posterior cortical atrophy patients (n = 14) and a group of matched healthy control participants (n = 19) using the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test with Immediate Recall. Diffusion tensor imaging measures were obtained for 13 of the posterior cortical atrophy patients and a second control group of 18 healthy adults. Patients and healthy controls demonstrated similar memory encoding performance, indicating that learning of verbal information was preserved in posterior cortical atrophy. However, retrieval of verbal items was significantly impaired in the patient group compared with control participants. As expected, tract-based spatial statistics analyses showed widespread reductions of white matter integrity in posterior cortical regions of patients compared with healthy adults. Correlation analyses indicated that poor verbal retrieval in the patient group was specifically associated with microstructural damage of the splenium of the corpus callosum. Post-hoc tractography analyses in healthy controls demonstrated that this splenial region was connected to thalamic radiations and the retrolenticular part of the internal capsule. These results provide insight into the brain circuits that underlie memory impairments in posterior cortical atrophy. From a cognitive perspective, we propose that the association between splenial integrity and memory dysfunction could arise indirectly via disruption of attentional processes. We discuss implications for the clinical phenotype and development of therapeutic aids for cognitive impairment in posterior cortical atrophy.
Date Issued
2021-04-28
Date Acceptance
2021-02-23
Citation
Brain Communications, 2021, 3 (2), pp.1-15
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/91145
URL
https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/3/2/fcab060/6257435
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab060
ISSN
2632-1297
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
1
End Page
15
Journal / Book Title
Brain Communications
Volume
3
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) (2021). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000667313900031&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Clinical Neurology
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
posterior cortical atrophy
diffusion tensor imaging
white matter
memory
splenium
EPISODIC MEMORY
ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE
CORPUS-CALLOSUM
PARIETAL CORTEX
RECOGNITION MEMORY
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
NEURAL CONNECTIVITY
HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME
PROCESSING-SPEED
VERBAL MEMORY
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN fcab060
Date Publish Online
2021-04-28
About
Spiral Depositing with Spiral Publishing with Spiral Symplectic
Contact us
Open access team Report an issue
Other Services
Scholarly Communications Library Services
logo

Imperial College London

South Kensington Campus

London SW7 2AZ, UK

tel: +44 (0)20 7589 5111

Accessibility Modern slavery statement Cookie Policy

Built with DSpace-CRIS software - Extension maintained and optimized by 4Science

  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy policy
  • End User Agreement
  • Send Feedback