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The Thalamus in Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders

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Abstract

Thalamus function and structure are known predictors of individual differences in the risk of age-related neurocognitive disorders (NCD), such as dementia. However, to date, little is known about their role in the perioperative setting. Here, we provide a narrative review of brain-imaging studies of preoperative and postoperative thalamus scanning parameters associated with risks of developing perioperative NCD, such as postoperative delirium (POD) and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) during the postoperative phase. These findings are discussed in light of the concept of reserve capacity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care Medicine (CCM, CVK), Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, 10117, Germany

    Marinus Fislage & Norman Zacharias

  2. Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, 100225, Taiwan

    Marinus Fislage

  3. Faculty of Health/School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany

    Insa Feinkohl

  4. Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Berlin, Germany

    Insa Feinkohl

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  1. Marinus Fislage
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MF and IF drafted the manuscript and approved the final version. NZ: edited the manuscript and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Marinus Fislage.

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Fislage, M., Zacharias, N. & Feinkohl, I. The Thalamus in Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders. Neuropsychol Rev (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-023-09615-1

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