Reduced gray matter volume is correlated with frontal cognitive and behavioral impairments in Parkinson's disease

Tatsuhiro Terada; Jun Miyata; Tomokazu Obi; Manabu Kubota; Miho Yoshizumi; Toshiya Murai

doi:10.1016/j.jns.2018.05.005

Reduced gray matter volume is correlated with frontal cognitive and behavioral impairments in Parkinson's disease

J Neurol Sci. 2018 Jul 15:390:231-238. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2018.05.005. Epub 2018 May 7.

Authors

Tatsuhiro Terada¹, Jun Miyata², Tomokazu Obi³, Manabu Kubota⁴, Miho Yoshizumi², Toshiya Murai²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Urushiyama 886, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka 420-8688, Japan; Department of Biofunctional Imaging, Preeminent Medical Photonics Education & Research Center, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama 1-20-1, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University,54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
³ Department of Neurology, Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Urushiyama 886, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka 420-8688, Japan.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University,54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan; Brain Disorder Translational Research Team, Department of Functional Brain Imaging Research, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.

PMID: 29801896
DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2018.05.005

Abstract

Objective: To identify the brain-volume reductions associated with frontal cognitive and behavioral impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Forty PD patients without dementia or amnesia (Hoehn and Yahr stage 3) and 10 age-matched controls underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging. Cognitive and behavioral impairments were assessed by using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale (FrSBe), respectively. We applied voxel-based morphometry to investigate the correlations of regional gray matter volume with FAB, FrSBe, and physical disability.

Results: FAB was significantly lower in PD than in controls. FrSBe was significantly higher after PD onset than before, notably in the apathy subscale. FAB and FrSBe were significantly intercorrelated. In PD patients, left inferior frontal volume was positively correlated with FAB, whereas right precentral volume was negatively correlated with FrSBe total score. The brain volumes in both of these regions were not correlated with the Unified PD Rating Scale III.

Conclusion: Behavioral impairments in PD tended to coexist with progression of frontal cognitive impairment. Regional atrophy within the frontal lobe was associated with both frontal cognitive and behavioral impairments. However, the specific region responsible for behavioral impairment differed from that for frontal cognitive impairment. These associations were independent of physical disability.

Keywords: Behavioral impairment; Frontal assessment battery (FAB); Frontal cognitive impairment; Frontal systems behavior scale (FrSBe); Parkinson's disease (PD); Voxel-based morphometry (VBM).

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnostic imaging*
Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology
Female
Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging*
Frontal Lobe / pathology
Gray Matter / diagnostic imaging*
Gray Matter / pathology
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Organ Size
Parkinson Disease / diagnostic imaging*
Parkinson Disease / pathology
Parkinson Disease / psychology*
Preliminary Data