Background And Purpose: The thalamus is a key brain hub that is globally connected to many cortical regions. Previous work highlights thalamic contributions to multiple cognitive functions, but few studies have measured thalamic volume changes or cognitive correlates. This study investigates associations between thalamic volumes and post-stroke cognitive function.
Methods: Participants with non-thalamic brain infarcts (3-42 months) underwent MRI and cognitive testing. Focal infarcts and thalami were traced manually. In cases with bilateral infarcts, the side of the primary infarct volume defined the hemisphere involved. Brain parcellation and volumetrics were extracted using a standardized and previously validated neuroimaging pipeline. Age and gender-matched healthy controls provided normal comparative thalamic volumes. Thalamic atrophy was considered when the volume exceeded 2 standard deviations greater than the controls.
Results: Thalamic volumes ipsilateral to the infarct in stroke patients (n=55) were smaller than left (4.4 ± 1.4 vs. 5.4 ± 0.5 cc, p < 0.001) and right (4.4 ± 1.4 vs. 5.5 ± 0.6 cc, p < 0.001) thalamic volumes in the controls. After controlling for head-size and global brain atrophy, infarct volume independently correlated with ipsilateral thalamic volume (β= -0.069, p=0.024). Left thalamic atrophy correlated significantly with poorer cognitive performance (β = 4.177, p = 0.008), after controlling for demographics and infarct volumes.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that the remote effect of infarction on ipsilateral thalamic volume is associated with global post-stroke cognitive impairment.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2022.106895 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established and effective treatment for severe depression and other conditions. Though ECT induces a generalized seizure, it is unclear why seizures are therapeutic. This study analyzed relationships between pre-treatment brain morphology, stimulation dose, and seizure duration to better understand ECT-induced seizures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThalamic volume differentiates multiple sclerosis from neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: MRI-based retrospective study.
Front Neurol
January 2025
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are distinct demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, each characterized by unique patterns of motor, sensory, and visual dysfunction. While MS typically affects the brain and spinal cord, NMOSD predominantly targets the optic nerves and spinal cord. This study aims to elucidate the morphometric differences between MS and NMOSD by focusing on gray matter volume changes in specific brain regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMachine learning-based assessment of morphometric abnormalities distinguishes bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
Neuroradiology
January 2025
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) have overlapping clinical presentations which may make it difficult for clinicians to distinguish them potentially resulting in misdiagnosis. This study combined structural MRI and machine learning techniques to determine whether regional morphological differences could distinguish patients with BD and MDD.
Methods: A total of 123 participants, including BD (n = 31), MDD (n = 48), and healthy controls (HC, n = 44), underwent high-resolution 3D T1-weighted imaging.
Subventricular Zone Microstructure in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis.
Ann Neurol
January 2025
Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the microstructural dynamics of the subventricular zone (SVZ) with aging and their associations with clinical disability and brain structural damage in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
Methods: One-hundred and forty-one pediatric-onset MS patients (67 pediatric and 74 adults with pediatric-onset) and 233 healthy controls (HC) underwent neurological and 3.0 T MRI assessment.
The impact of cortical and subcortical volumes on major depression risk: A genetic study.
J Affect Disord
January 2025
Affiliated Mental Health Center of Jiangnan University, Wuxi Central Rehabilitation Hospital, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214151, China. Electronic address:
Objective: This study aimed to explore the causal relationship between brain cortical and subcortical structures and major depressive disorder (MDD) using the Mendelian Randomization (MR) method.
Methods: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used as instrumental variables to analyze subcortical brain volume, cortical thickness, and surface area as exposure factors, with MDD as the outcome. Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted to validate the robustness of the results.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!