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Grey and white matter brain network changes in frontotemporal dementia subtypes

  • Research Article
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Translational Neuroscience

Abstract

Background

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) comprises of three clinical syndromes, behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), semantic dementia (SV-PPA), and progressive nonfluent aphasia (NFV-PPA) with unique underlying neuroanatomical deficits. To date, however, grey matter structural differences and their connecting white matter tracts in this network have been mostly characterised in comparison to controls, whereas within FTD subtype comparisons in the same patients have not been explored.

Methodology

In 94 participants, including bvFTD (n = 16), SV-PPA (n = 16) and NFV-PPA (n = 16), as well as an age-matched control group (n = 46), we employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine grey and white matter key signatures in each of the three FTD subtypes.

Results

Our results showed that bvFTD had specific ventromedial prefrontal cortex and striatum grey matter atrophy along with their connecting white matter tracts compared to other FTD subtypes. By contrast, SV-PPA showed additional temporal pole grey matter damage to bvFTD and grey and white matter temporal, amygdala and insula changes compared to NFV-PPA. Finally, NFV-PPA showed mild insula grey and white matter changes compared to bvFTD but differed from SV-PPA only on anterior corpus callosum white matter changes.

Conclusions

Our findings clearly indicate that not only grey matter regions of the FTD network but also their white matter connecting tracts have specific signatures for each FTD subtype. These promising findings highlight how neural network approaches can shed new light on neurodegenerative conditions and FTD in particular, which will inform future diagnostic and disease management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia

    Tim Nguyen, Claire O’Callaghan, John R. Hodges & Michael Hornberger

  2. School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Tim Nguyen, Claire O’Callaghan, John R. Hodges & Michael Hornberger

  3. Institut Jean Nicod, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

    Maxime Bertoux

  4. Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Samrah Ahmed

  5. Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK

    Michael Hornberger

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  1. Tim Nguyen
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  2. Maxime Bertoux
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  3. Claire O’Callaghan
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  4. Samrah Ahmed
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  5. John R. Hodges
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  6. Michael Hornberger
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Correspondence to Michael Hornberger.

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Nguyen, T., Bertoux, M., O’Callaghan, C. et al. Grey and white matter brain network changes in frontotemporal dementia subtypes. Translat.Neurosci. 4, 410–418 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s13380-013-0141-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s13380-013-0141-2

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