Cortical thinning and microstructural integrity disruption in white matter hyperintensities

IF 3.7 3区医学 Q2 NEUROSCIENCES

Brain Research Bulletin Pub Date : 2025-09-07 DOI:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111525

Xin Wang , Jie Hu , Xiaosan Wu , Wei Wang , Xiaohui Xie , Shanshan Cao , Feng Geng , Panpan Hu , Yanghua Tian , Kai Wang , Jun Zhang

{"title":"Cortical thinning and microstructural integrity disruption in white matter hyperintensities","authors":"Xin Wang , Jie Hu , Xiaosan Wu , Wei Wang , Xiaohui Xie , Shanshan Cao , Feng Geng , Panpan Hu , Yanghua Tian , Kai Wang , Jun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111525","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The relationships between white matter microstructure, cortical atrophy, and cognitive function in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD)-related white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) patients are unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>71 right-handed WMHs patients (mild, n = 23; moderate, n = 27; severe, n = 21) and 35 healthy controls (HCs） were included. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) assessed microstructure via fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Surface-based morphometry (SBM) measured morphology. Cognitive function was evaluated with a standardized scale. Multivariate regression, correlation, and mediation analyses were conducted.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Patients with moderate to severe WMHs exhibited impaired cognitive function, reduced FA, increased MD in extensive white matter, and decreased cortical thickness compared to HCs (P < 0.05). Cortical thinning was observed in the insula, superior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, pars opercularis, postcentral gyrus, pars triangularis, precentral gyrus, and anterior cingulate. Moreover, FA and MD were respectively significantly correlated with cortical thickness. Mediation analysis revealed cortical thinning in specific regions (e.g., left insula, supramarginal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus) mediated the association between FA (69 %) and MD (93 %) with Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) scores.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>WMHs patients exhibited white matter microstructure degeneration and reduced cortical thickness, both linked to cognitive decline. Specific left-hemisphere cortical thinning mediated the relationship between white matter microstructure and VFT performance, revealing mechanisms of WMHs-related cognitive decline.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9302,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research Bulletin","volume":"231 ","pages":"Article 111525"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Brain Research Bulletin","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025003375","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The relationships between white matter microstructure, cortical atrophy, and cognitive function in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD)-related white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) patients are unclear.

Methods

71 right-handed WMHs patients (mild, n = 23; moderate, n = 27; severe, n = 21) and 35 healthy controls (HCs） were included. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) assessed microstructure via fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Surface-based morphometry (SBM) measured morphology. Cognitive function was evaluated with a standardized scale. Multivariate regression, correlation, and mediation analyses were conducted.

Results

Patients with moderate to severe WMHs exhibited impaired cognitive function, reduced FA, increased MD in extensive white matter, and decreased cortical thickness compared to HCs (P < 0.05). Cortical thinning was observed in the insula, superior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, pars opercularis, postcentral gyrus, pars triangularis, precentral gyrus, and anterior cingulate. Moreover, FA and MD were respectively significantly correlated with cortical thickness. Mediation analysis revealed cortical thinning in specific regions (e.g., left insula, supramarginal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus) mediated the association between FA (69 %) and MD (93 %) with Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) scores.

Conclusion

WMHs patients exhibited white matter microstructure degeneration and reduced cortical thickness, both linked to cognitive decline. Specific left-hemisphere cortical thinning mediated the relationship between white matter microstructure and VFT performance, revealing mechanisms of WMHs-related cognitive decline.

查看原文本刊更多论文

白质高强度的皮层变薄和微结构完整性破坏。

背景：脑小血管疾病（CSVD）相关白质高信号（WMHs）患者白质微结构、皮质萎缩和认知功能之间的关系尚不清楚。方法：选取71例右撇子wmh患者（轻度23例，中度27例，重度21例）和35例健康对照。基于束的空间统计（TBSS）通过分数各向异性（FA）和平均扩散率（MD）来评估微观结构。基于表面的形态测量（SBM）测量形貌。采用标准化量表评估认知功能。进行多元回归、相关及中介分析。结果：与hc相比，中度至重度wmh患者表现为认知功能受损，FA减少，广泛白质MD增加，皮质厚度减少（P < 0.05）。在脑岛、额上回、边缘上回、颞横回、颞上回、小叶部、中央后回、三角部、中央前回和前扣带均可见皮质变薄。FA和MD分别与皮质厚度呈显著相关。中介分析显示，特定区域（如左脑岛、边缘上回、颞横回）的皮质变薄介导了FA（89%）和MD（93%）与语言流畅性测试（VFT）分数之间的关联。结论：WMHs患者表现出白质微结构变性和皮质厚度减少，两者都与认知能力下降有关。特异性左半球皮质变薄介导了白质微观结构与VFT表现之间的关系，揭示了wmhs相关认知衰退的机制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Brain Research Bulletin 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

253

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： The Brain Research Bulletin (BRB) aims to publish novel work that advances our knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie neural network properties associated with behavior, cognition and other brain functions during neurodevelopment and in the adult. Although clinical research is out of the Journal''s scope, the BRB also aims to publish translation research that provides insight into biological mechanisms and processes associated with neurodegeneration mechanisms, neurological diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. The Journal is especially interested in research using novel methodologies, such as optogenetics, multielectrode array recordings and life imaging in wild-type and genetically-modified animal models, with the goal to advance our understanding of how neurons, glia and networks function in vivo.