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Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a leading cause of vascular cognitive decline and vascular dementia. The effect of SVD on white matter networks - which are structural brain networks underlying information processing - is well-established, but how this leads to cognitive decline is still unknown.
In an attempt to better understand how SVD leads to cognitive changes, Tay and colleagues investigated the relationship between structural and functional brain networks in SVD patients. Functional brain networks have been associated with cognitive abilities throughout the lifespan, and are closely coupled with structural networks. It is possible that disruption of coupling between structural and functional brain networks leads to cognitive decline. The research group was led by Anil Tuladhar from the department of Neurology in the Radboudumc, and included collaborators from the University of Cambridge and the University of Basel. The study was published in NeuroImage: Clinical on 28 April 2023.
The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to measure structural and functional brain networks in patients from the RUN DMC study, a prospective cohort study of individuals with SVD. They found that decreased structural-functional network coupling across the brain was correlated with a reduction in cognitive abilities over four years. They also found that these effects could be localised to a functional sub-network implicated in cognitive control, which has been implicated in flexible, goal-directed thinking and behaviour.
These results suggest that structural-functional network decoupling may lead to cognitive decline in patients with SVD. It also suggests that these changes may be related to a specific sub-network in the brain, paving the way for further investigations into the function of this network and how it could be targeted for treatment approaches.
