Executive dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia is related to abnormalities in frontal white matter tracts
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1
University of California at San Francisco, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
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2
University of California at San Francisco, Memory and Aging Center , United States
Behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is associated with personality change and executive dysfunction, which has been linked to frontal and temporal lobe gray and white matter (WM) pathology. Studies utilizing diffusion tensor imaging, which measures WM tract integrity as Fractional Anisotropy (FA), have revealed reduced FA in specific frontal and temporal tracts in bvFTD compared to normal controls. We assessed the relationship between WM abnormalities and cognitive function in bvFTD. Fractional anisotropy for the corpus callosum, cingulum (Cg), and uncinate fasciculus was determined using semi-automated software in 17 bvFTD patients who underwent neuropsychological testing. In bvFTD, the left anterior Cg FA explained a significant proportion of the variance in a speeded set-shifting task (Modified Trails: r2=0.56, p=0.005), in MT Time (r2=0.39, p=0.008) and a composite measure of the total errors made across a number of executive function tasks (r2=0.26, p=0.037). The right anterior Cg FA was related to visuospatial attention and working memory (WAIS-III Spatial Span: r2=0.63, p=0.004) and the right posterior Cg to visual-constructional abilities (WAIS-III Block design: r2=0.46, p=0.015). These results suggest that frontal WM tracts underlie executive dysfunction, in bvFTD while posterior tracts are important for visuospatial function.
Conference:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes, Toronto, Canada, 22 Mar - 26 Mar, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Neurologic
Citation:
Chao
L,
Kramer
J,
Miller
BL,
Neuhaus
J,
Racine
C,
Rosen
H,
Tartaglia
MC,
Weiner
M and
Zhang
Y
(2010). Executive dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia is related to abnormalities in frontal white matter tracts.
Conference Abstract:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.14.00161
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Received:
01 Jul 2010;
Published Online:
01 Jul 2010.
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Correspondence:
M. C Tartaglia, University of California at San Francisco, Memory and Aging Center, San Farncisco, United States, carmela.tartaglia@uhn.ca