White matter hyperintensities mediate gray matter volume and processing speed relationship in cognitively unimpaired participants.

ABSTRACT: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) have been extensively associated with cognitive impairment and reductions in gray matter volume (GMv) independently. This study explored whether WMH lesion volume mediates the relationship between cerebral patterns of GMv and cognition in 521 (mean age 57.7 years) cognitively unimpaired middle-aged individuals. Episodic memory (EM) was measured with the Memory Binding Test and executive functions (EF) using five WAIS-IV subtests. WMH were automatically determined from T2 and FLAIR sequences and characterized using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) parameters. WMH volume was entered as a mediator in a voxel-wise mediation analysis relating GMv and cognitive performance (with both EM and EF composites and the individual tests independently). The mediation m

SUBMITTER: Brugulat-Serrat A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7267988 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature