Case Control Study
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World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2025; 15(4): 99859
Published online Apr 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i4.99859
Link of gray matter volume to cognitive and motor function in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment
Yue-Bing Yue, Man-Fei Xu, Zheng Xu, Jian-Xia Xu, Min Lin, Yi Yang
Yue-Bing Yue, Man-Fei Xu, Zheng Xu, Yi Yang, Department of Geratology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Jian-Xia Xu, Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Min Lin, School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Yue YB, Xu MF, Xu Z, Xu JX, and Lin M contributed to research design, data collection, data analysis, and paper writing; Yang Y was responsible for research design, funding application, data analysis, manuscript reviewing and editing, communication coordination, ethical review, copyright and licensing, and follow-up.
Supported by Zhejiang Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Plan Project, No. 2023ZL460 and Zhejiang Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization Special Project, No. 2021ZX011.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Review Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University.
Informed consent statement: All research participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent prior to study registration.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest associated with this work.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No other data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yi Yang, Department of Geratology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 318 Chaowang Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China. zjtcmyyb@126.com
Received: November 28, 2024
Revised: January 7, 2025
Accepted: February 5, 2025
Published online: April 19, 2025
Processing time: 117 Days and 3.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), characterized by subtle cognitive decline. Amnestic MCI (aMCI), in particular, is a critical precursor often progressing to AD. There is growing interest in understanding the neuroanatomical correlates of aMCI, especially the role of gray matter volume (GMV) in cognitive and motor function decline. This study hypothesized that aMCI patients will exhibit reduced GMV, particularly in brain regions associated with cognition and motor control, impacting both cognitive performance and motor abilities.

AIM

To investigate the association of GMV with cognitive and motor functions in aMCI.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study conducted from March 2022 to March 2024, 45 aMCI patients and 45 normal controls from our Department of Geratology were enrolled. Voxel-based morphometry was used to compare GMV between groups. Correlation of differential GMV with cognitive scores and gait parameters was assessed via partial correlation analysis. Linear regression was used to assess associations between whole-brain GMV and gait measures.

RESULTS

GMV of aMCI region of interest (ROI) 1 and ROI2 was negatively correlated with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score. GMV of ROI6 was positively correlated with the total scores of Mini-Mental State Examination and Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Chinese Version (CAMCOG-C) and negatively correlated with ADL score. In the partial correlation analysis of cognitive and motor function parameters, age, gender, educational level, height, and weight were controlled, and the results showed that CAMCOG-C was negatively correlated with Dual Task of Time Up and Go Test (TUG) duration in the aMCI group. The volume of the left occipital gray matter in the aMCI group was negatively correlated with TUG. GMV of the bilateral frontal gyrus, right orbitofrontal gyrus, right occipital cleft, right supraoccipital gyrus, and left anterior central gyrus was positively correlated with walking speed.

CONCLUSION

GMV reduction in aMCI correlates with impaired cognition and motor function, emphasizing key roles for prefrontal, occipital, and central regions in gait disorders.

Keywords: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Gray matter volume; Voxel-based morphometry; Alzheimer's disease; Motor function

Core Tip: This study investigated the association between gray matter volume (GMV) reduction in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and decline in cognitive and motor functions. We utilized voxel-based morphometry to identify brain regions with significant GMV differences between aMCI patients and healthy controls. The findings highlight the potential of GMV as a biomarker for cognitive and motor dysfunction in aMCI, emphasizing the importance of the prefrontal, occipital, and central regions in gait disorders.