Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr;67(4):475-82.
doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2010.42.

The association of magnetic resonance imaging measures with cognitive function in a biracial population sample

Neelum T Aggarwal  1 , Robert S Wilson, Julia L Bienias, Philip L De Jager, David A Bennett, Denis A Evans, Charles DeCarli
Affiliations

The association of magnetic resonance imaging measures with cognitive function in a biracial population sample

Neelum T Aggarwal et al. Arch Neurol. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Background: White matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV), cerebral infarcts, and total brain volume (TBV) are associated with cognitive function, but few studies have examined these associations in the general population or whether they differ by race.

Objective: To examine the association of WMHV, cerebral infarcts, and TBV with global cognition and cognition in 5 separate domains in a biracial population sample.

Setting: A biracial community population of Chicago, Illinois.

Design: Cross-sectional population study.

Participants: The study population comprised 575 participants from the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP).

Main outcome measures: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of WMHV, TBV, and cerebral infarcts and detailed neuropsychological testing assessments of global cognition and 5 cognitive domains.

Results: Overall and among those without dementia, cognition was inversely associated with WMHV and number of infarcts but was positively associated with TBV. When all 3 measures were simultaneously added to the model, the association of global cognition with WMHV and TBV remained significant and unchanged but was no longer significant with infarcts. Among subjects without dementia, all 3 MRI measures were associated with performance in multiple cognitive domains, specifically perceptual speed. However, among subjects with dementia, only TBV was associated with cognition and performance in multiple cognitive systems. Race did not significantly modify any of these associations.

Conclusions: In this biracial general population sample, the associations of MRI measures with cognition differed according to clinical status of subjects (stronger among subjects without dementia) and were not modified by race. These associations did not affect all cognitive domains equally but were more consistent with impairments in perceptual speed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Predicted relation between white matter hyperintensity volume and global cognitive function (A) and total brain volume and global cognitive function (B) for African Americans (solid line) and whites (dashed line). White matter hyperintensity volume=natural log (white matter hyperintensity volume/total cranial volume). Total brain volume=total brain parenchymal volume/total cranial volume. Dotted lines are 95% confidence intervals for the regression line.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. van der Flier WM, van der Vlies AE, Weverling-Rijnsburger AW, et al. MRI measures and progression of cognitive decline in nondemented elderly attending a memory clinic. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005;20(11):1060–1066. - PubMed
    1. Vermeer SE, Prins ND, den Heijer T, Hofman A, Koudstaal PJ, Breteler MM. Silent brain infarcts and the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. N Engl J Med. 2003;348(13):1215–1222. - PubMed
    1. Wright CB, Festa JR, Paik MC, et al. White matter hyperintensities and subclinical infarction: associations with psychomotor speed and cognitive flexibility. Stroke. 2008;39(3):800–805. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seshadri S, Wolf PA, Beiser A, et al. Stroke risk profile, brain volume, and cognitive function: the Framingham Offspring Study. Neurology. 2004;63(9):1591–1599. - PubMed
    1. Mosley TH, Jr, Knopman DS, Catellier DJ, et al. Cerebral MRI findings and cognitive functioning: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Neurology. 2005;64(12):2056–2062. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms