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26-12-2023 | Mild Neurocognitive Disorder | Original Article

Changes in microstructural similarity of hippocampal subfield circuits in pathological cognitive aging

Authors: Min Fang, Huanghuang Huang, Jie Yang, Shuying Zhang, Yujie Wu, Chu-Chung Huang

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 2/2024

Abstract

The hippocampal networks support multiple cognitive functions and may have biological roles and functions in pathological cognitive aging (PCA) and its associated diseases, which have not been explored. In the current study, a total of 116 older adults with 39 normal controls (NC) (mean age: 52.3 ± 13.64 years; 16 females), 39 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (mean age: 68.15 ± 9.28 years, 14 females), and 38 dementia (mean age: 73.82 ± 8.06 years, 8 females) were included. The within-hippocampal subfields and the cortico-hippocampal circuits were assessed via a micro-structural similarity network approach using T1w/T2w ratio and regional gray matter tissue probability maps, respectively. An analysis of covariance was conducted to identify between-group differences in structural similarities among hippocampal subfields. The partial correlation analyses were performed to associate changes in micro-structural similarities with cognitive performance in the three groups, controlling the effect of age, sex, education, and cerebral small-vessel disease. Compared with the NC, an altered T1w/T2w ratio similarity between left CA3 and left subiculum was observed in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. The left CA3 was the most impaired region correlated with deteriorated cognitive performance. Using these regions as seeds for GM similarity comparisons between hippocampal subfields and cortical regions, group differences were observed primarily between the left subiculum and several cortical regions. By utilizing T1w/T2w ratio as a proxy measure for myelin content, our data suggest that the imbalanced synaptic weights within hippocampal CA3 provide a substrate to explain the abnormal firing characteristics of hippocampal neurons in PCA. Furthermore, our work depicts specific brain structural characteristics of normal and pathological cognitive aging and suggests a potential mechanism for cognitive aging heterogeneity.

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Title: Changes in microstructural similarity of hippocampal subfield circuits in pathological cognitive aging
Authors: Min Fang
Huanghuang Huang
Jie Yang
Shuying Zhang
Yujie Wu
Chu-Chung Huang
Publication date: 26-12-2023
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: Mild Neurocognitive Disorder
Dementia
Dementia
Published in: Brain Structure and Function / Issue 2/2024
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-023-02721-z

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Changes in microstructural similarity of hippocampal subfield circuits in pathological cognitive aging

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