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Hippocampal volume and cingulum bundle fractional anisotropy are independently associated with verbal memory in older adults

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of medial temporal lobe and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) volumetrics as well as fractional anisotropy of the cingulum angular bundle (CAB) and the cingulum cingulate gyrus (CCG) bundle to performance on measures of verbal memory in non-demented older adults. The participants were 100 non-demented adults over the age of 70 years from the Einstein Aging Study. Volumetric data were estimated from T1-weighted images. The entire cingulum was reconstructed using diffusion tensor MRI and probabilistic tractography. Association between verbal episodic memory and MRI measures including volume of hippocampus (HIP), entorhinal cortex (ERC), PCC and fractional anisotropy of CAB and CCG bundle were modeled using linear regression. Relationships between atrophy of these structures and regional cingulum fractional anisotropy were also explored. Decreased HIP volume on the left and decreased fractional anisotropy of left CAB were associated with lower memory performance. Volume changes in ERC, PCC and CCG disruption were not associated with memory performance. In regression models, left HIP volume and left CAB-FA were each independently associated with episodic memory. The results suggest that microstructural changes in the left CAB and decreased left HIP volume independently influence episodic memory performance in older adults without dementia. The importance of these findings in age and illness-related memory decline require additional exploration.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that there are no financial, personal, or other potential conflicts of interest to report.

Funding

This research was supported by National Institute on Aging Grant AG03949 and AG026728.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saul B. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 1165 Morris Park Avenue, Rousso Bldg. Rm. 330, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Ali Ezzati, Mindy J. Katz, Molly E. Zimmerman & Richard B. Lipton

  2. Department of Neurology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA

    Ali Ezzati

  3. The Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center and Departments of Radiology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Michael L. Lipton

  4. The Department of Radiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA

    Michael L. Lipton

  5. Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Molly E. Zimmerman

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Richard B. Lipton

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  1. Ali Ezzati
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  2. Mindy J. Katz
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  3. Michael L. Lipton
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Correspondence to Ali Ezzati.

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Movie 1

Demontration of coronal view of posterior probability distributions of CCG (upper bundle) and CAB (lower bundle) pathways reconstructed with TRACULA in both hemispheres, while superimposed on T1 image of the subject. CCG= cingulum cingulate gyrus bundle, CAB= cingulum angular bundle. (MPG 1482 kb)

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Ezzati, A., Katz, M.J., Lipton, M.L. et al. Hippocampal volume and cingulum bundle fractional anisotropy are independently associated with verbal memory in older adults. Brain Imaging and Behavior 10, 652–659 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-015-9452-y

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