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PMID: 19776343 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Level of executive function influences verbal memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and predicts prefrontal and posterior cingulate thickness.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) ·Vol. 20 ·No. 6 ·2010-06-00 ·Pages 1305-13

Chang YL, Jacobson MW, Fennema-Notestine C, Hagler DJ, Jennings RG, Dale AM, McEvoy LK, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationship between executive function and verbal memory and to explore the underlying neuroanatomical correlates in 358 individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 222 healthy controls (HCs). The MCI participants were divided into 2 groups (high vs. low) based on executive function task performance. Results demonstrated that although both MCI groups were impaired on all memory measures relative to HCs, MCI individuals with higher executive function (HEF) demonstrated better verbal memory performance than those with lower executive function (LEF), particularly on measures of learning. The 2 MCI groups did not differ in mesial temporal morphometric measures, but the MCI LEF group showed significant thinning in dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices bilaterally compared with the MCI HEF and HCs. Further, thickness in numerous regions of frontal cortex, and bilateral posterior cingulate, was significantly associated with memory performance in all MCI participants above and beyond the contribution of the mesial temporal regions known to be associated with episodic memory. Overall, these results demonstrate the importance of evaluating executive function in individuals with MCI to predict involvement of brain areas beyond the mesial temporal lobe.

MeSH Terms
Aged Aged, 80 and over Amnesia/pathology,physiopathology Atrophy Brain Mapping Cerebral Cortex/pathology,physiopathology Cognition Disorders/pathology,physiopathology Executive Function/physiology Female Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Memory/physiology Predictive Value of Tests Prefrontal Cortex/pathology Prognosis Verbal Behavior/physiology
Authors & Affiliations
8 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Chang Yu-Ling
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. [email protected]
Jacobson Mark W
Fennema-Notestine Christine
Hagler Donald J
Jennings Robin G
Dale Anders M
McEvoy Linda K
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
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Article Info
Journal
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
Abbr.
Cereb Cortex
ISSN
1460-2199
DOI
10.1093/cercor/bhp192
Email
[email protected]
Published
2010-06-00
Epub
2009-00-23
Pages
1305-13
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
9110718
PMCID
PMC2912652
Subset
IM
Grants
NCRR NIH HHS · U24 RR021382 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · R01 AG031224 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · K01AG029218 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · AG024904 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · U19 AG010483 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · AG031224 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhp192 PMC Full Text View journal details
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